Summertime
Directed by David Lean
Written by Lean and H.E. Bates from a play by Arthur Laurents
1955/UK/USA
London Film Productions
Repeat viewing/Netflix rental
[box] Signora Fiorini: When in Italy, you should meet Italians![/box]
David Lean gives us all a romantic holiday in Venice.
Jane Hudson (Katharine Hepburn) is a secretary of a certain age. She has saved up the money to take a long holiday in Venice. She is traveling alone and her loneliness is palpable. She dives into all sights with gusto and understanding, however.
One day, as she is having a drink alone in an outdoor cafe on the Piazza San Marco, she notices a handsome man staring at her. This makes her uncomfortable. The next day she goes into a shop to inquire about a red glass goblet and it turns out that the man is the store owner, Renato de Rossi (Rossano Brazzi). He sells her the goblet and gets her address so that he can let her know if he finds a match to complete a pair.
Jane goes back to the store to ask if he has found the glass. He shows up at her penzione that night to ask her out. Jane is both terribly attracted and deeply suspicious of the Italian’s motives. We share their bliss, followed by Jane’s soul searching.
I could have looked at Lean’s portrait of Venice for hours without a story to keep my attention. But this is a pretty good tale as well. My least favorite Hepburn character is the 40-year-old virgin that she played for about a decade around this time. However, on revisiting the film, I found a lot to like about both her and the character. Not that I personally could have resisted Rossano Brazzi for more than a minute …
Summertime was nominated for Academy Awards for Best Director and Best Actress.
Clip – visit to Murano
Don’t let hubbie read this review LOL
“Summertime”….forever means a piece of magic from Louis Armstrong and Ella Fitzgerald for me at least.
Thanks for the mention of this one, I may even leave Japana Passiona for a little bit of an Italia Holiday.
I too have a lot of trouble with latish and/or serious Hepburn, it is very hard to beat her comedic movies. They are the epitome of “they don’t make ’em like that anymore”.
I highly recommend Venice even in the virtual version! If I was forced to select my very favorite country for a holiday it would be Italy without question. The scenery, the art, the food ….
Ahhh so cruel, not been there, jealous!
When I was in Venice in 2009 we accidentally bumped into a Leonard Cohen consert on Piazza san Marco. That was just magical i multiple dimensions.
Never seen this movie. Maybe I should
You know how to make me jealous. I really can’t imagine anything better that Leonard Cohen in Venice. If you ever feel nostalgic, I would recommend the film. Lean gets all the right shots.
As a teenager, I like SUMMERTIME. I suspect I would still like it and have a greater appreciation for its layers and David Lean’s eye. It goes on the “to be watched” list.
I liked it much, much more the second time than I did the first.