50/10
Meeting with Amelia confronts her with new and shocking emotions
Narrative
Ginia, seventeen, experiences the ecstasy and turmoil that characterize the mysterious journey into adulthood. But only by recognizing this love, she can be herself..
Bambina innamorataPerformed by Gabriele Graham Gasco
It's frustrating to watch a film that's ostensibly headed along a particular trajectory but that continually stumbles on the path it takes to get there. That's precisely what happens in this period piece coming out/coming of age story set in 1938 Italy.
But, even when this offering apparently approaches that destination, it takes yet another unexpected left-field turn and subsequently leads to what the filmmaker herself admits is a deliberately ambiguous conclusion
Writer-director Laura Luchetti's adaptation of Cesare Pavese's 1949 novel about an impressionable 17-year-old dressmaker (Yile Yara Vianello) who becomes romantically infatuated with an artist's model (Deva Cassel) takes its own sweet time (and plenty of overlong detours) in making its way toward a seemingly foregone conclusion. Consequently, this is the kind of movie that's likely to leave many viewers scratching their head and asking, "What's the point of all this?" The picture is allegedly intended to address a subject that was considered taboo at the time of the story's setting and of the book's writing, but that objective isn't fulfilled nearly as clearly as it might have been.
As a result, whatever lofty intentions might have been behind the initiation of this production, they're decidedly obscured in the final cut
There are also some passing references to the fascist sociopolitical conditions of the time (elements not included in the source material), but they're never developed much, making their inclusion look like throwaway afterthoughts. To its credit, "The Beautiful Summer" has some fine cinematography, well-chosen location settings showcasing the beauty of Turin and a stirring soundtrack, but, if these attributes are the best that one can say about the film, that's not saying much about the picture overall.