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Editor’s note: Douglas Wood recently moved to Corrales with his wife after living in Los Angeles for forty years (but don’t hold that against them– they grew up in the Midwest), where they worked in the entertainment industry. Douglas Wood is a retired TV writer and a former film executive for Steven Spielberg, who wants to bring awareness of little-known movies that are gems but never got the publicity they deserved.
By Douglas Wood
Shot entirely in Las Cruces, In the Summers is Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio’s feature directorial debut, an impressively nuanced if melancholy drama that explores the relationship between two sisters and their volatile father over a period of roughly fifteen years. Each of its four chapters takes place during summers when the two sisters leave their mother in California to visit their father, Vicenzo (played by charismatic Puerto Rican rapper René Peréz Joglar), a mostly unemployed alcoholic with charm to spare, but not much else when it comes to parenting.
Different pairs of actors portray the sisters as they age from young girls to adults, a concept that may sound contrived but is actually beautifully executed due to astute casting and outstanding performances. In Chapter I, Violeta (Dreya Renae Castillo), the older of the two girls, is sullen and rough-edged, presumably the result of having already witnessed Vicenzo’s dark side. Eva (Luciana Quinonez), is by contrast playful and naïve, her fantasy father not yet tarnished by the truth. In an early scene, she gazes lovingly at him as he shaves his head. When he lets her take a few strokes with the razor, she nicks him, but he doesn’t care—they laugh together, kindred spirits. Later, when Eva is a teen, this camaraderie is nowhere to be found. After she beats her dad in a game of pool, he reacts with a hostile, “you happy?â€
The film begins with Vicenzo straightening up the sofa and ridding his simple adobe-style house of empty beer bottles. He picks up his daughters from the Las Cruces airport and we can’t help but notice his smoking in the airless car. Yes, he later conscientiously applies sunscreen to Eva before she gets in his pool and even makes sure she waits seven minutes before swimming. But he also drives erratically after an evening of star gazing, just for the fun of it. Eva thinks it’s a blast, but Violeta, sans seatbelt, is terrified. Â
Chapter II begins with Vicenzo once again picking up his daughters at the airport—they’re teens now. Violetta is gruff and macho, and pursues a relationship with a young woman, Camila (Sharlene Cruz), who Vicenzo occasionally tutors in physics. Eva is no longer quite so trusting. When Vicenzo orders her sister into a private room and closes the door, she fears the worst. We find out he’s proudly teaching Violeta how to smoke weed—better she get wasted at home with her dad than out on the streets. Isn’t that what a good father does?Â
Fortunately, there’s a sane adult available to the girls—Carmen (Emma Ramos), a childhood friend of Vicenzo’s who tends the Palacio bar/restaurant in town where he plays pool and drinks. It’s she who drives the girls home when Vicenzo, plastered and belligerent, wants to take the wheel. Without her maternal presence in the film, the girls’ world might seem unbearable.
Carmen’s not around, however, when Vicenzo decides to throw a party. Feeling no pain, he coaxes Violetta into dancing with him. When he makes fun of her moves, she breaks away, prompting him to explode. “You think you’re better than me?†he bullies. Apparently, she does. “You’re just a nobody,†she says, “living in your mom’s old house, hanging out with all your loser friends.†Things get ugly.
The chapter ends on a cliffhanger—an action sequence in a movie without much action. By this point, we’ve come to realize that the film doesn’t develop so much via plot as by the progression (“growth†would be too positive a word) of the key relationships. This modest indie approach may be problematic for those comfortable with the traditional three-act structure of most Hollywood movies, but for those who appreciate more intimate, character-driven stories, In the Summers is consistently poignant and at times, riveting. It’s an emotional ride that never surrenders to sentimentality. Â
Chapter III has Vicenzo picking up Eva from the airport; Violeta has decided not to come, much to the chagrin of her father. Eva discovers her dad is now living with a young woman, Yenny (Leslie Grace) and their newborn baby. The house is a mess and Vicenzo’s drinking has gotten worse. The gleaming pool Eva and her sister once frolicked in is now a dried-up cesspool.
Violeta returns in the final act when the sisters are young adults. Vicenzo has cleaned up his act (or has he?) and appears to be a doting father to his toddler daughter. We see the toll his behavior has taken on the sisters—Eva is emotionally shut down, a chain smoker who hooks up with a random guy at a party for a bout of joyless sex. Violeta comes to life only when she’s with Camila.Â
Alessandra Lacorazza Samudio (who also wrote the screenplay) is a keen observer of flawed behavior and derives stellar performances from her cast. Perez is, miraculously, a sympathetic character despite his unpredictability. He ingratiates himself to us as well as his daughters, yet menace is never far beneath the surface. It’s a performance worthy of awards. The actors portraying the sisters are all masters of subtlety, able to convey so much with just a glance or turn of the head. The final close-ups on their beautiful sun-baked faces as they await their flight home tell us everything we need to know about love, resilience and family. No words required.Â
In the Summers is currently streaming on Disney+ and Hulu.