In the Summers is an insight into a family as two siblings grow to adulthood. We see only three summers of their lives as they grow and spend time with their highly imperfect father in Las Cruces, New Mexico.
In the Summers stars an excellent Residente (as René Pérez Joglar) as the father, Vicente. Vicente wants to be a good father, but he isn’t always successful at it. Residente was brilliant in this.
The first summer is the best for the kids. Young Eva (Luciana Elisa Quinonez) and Young Violeta (Dreya Castillo) swim, play, learn to shoot pool, and have a mostly present dad with them. He drinks a bit too much but he makes an effort.
Violeta presents as butch that first summer. She cuts off all her hair and befriends the bartender at her dad’s favorite pool hall, Carmen (Emma Ramos). Carmen remains an important person during all their visits.
The next summer visit features Middle Eva (Allison Salinas) and Middle Violeta (Kimaya Thais). They are left alone a lot. Vicente is drinking and using drugs. He takes the kids on a long drive across the desert in the middle of the night and has a wreck, injuring them all.
The swimming pool that was clean and nice and fun to play in for the first visit was half full and covered in scum and algae by the second visit. At the end it was completely empty – nothing but a big hole in the back yard.
When the siblings arrive at their dad’s house, they find a new girlfriend named Yenny (Leslie Grace) and a new little sister of about two.
Violeta is presenting as male for the second visit. Vicente never uses any name but Violeta or any pronouns but female ones for his child, even when we see the adult Violeta. I kept waiting for Violeta to insist on a new name and new pronouns, but they just let it go with Vicente.
The final summer visit we see brings Adult Eva (Sasha Calle) and Adult Violeta (Lio Mehiel) back to the tiny Las Cruces airport. Violeta is obviously a trans man now but Vicente never mentions it. He loves them, he welcomes them, but he doesn’t address any of their problems or concerns. Eva is miserable. She’s started drinking and smoking herself.
The two siblings have each other. The photo up at the top is the last scene in the movie as they wait at the Las Cruces airport to go back to their home in California. They share a wordless understanding of what they’ve been through and of unfailing support of each other.
In the Summers is a mix of English and Spanish. Maybe it’s the way I have my Hulu settings, but the English close captions showed although none of the Spanish was subtitled. It didn’t make the story any less understandable.
This tender and insightful portrait of a broken family was written and directed by Alessandra Lacorazza. It was a straight forward look at three summers. There was nothing unnecessary. No exposition, no extra dialog, just life as it happened for these people during these three summers. What went on the rest of the time was never mentioned.
I was left wondering what the future holds for this family. Where will they be in 10 years, 20 years? Will Vicente get his act together? Will the kids be successful? I want them to, I’m rooting for them. This film makes you care about the characters and their lives.
The trailer may help you decide if the film looks like one you would like to see. In the Summers is streaming on Hulu.