Bummer Summer

Cinequest 2010

Completely filmed in black and white, BUMMER SUMMER is a beautifully shot film.  I can’t say this enough.  Every single scene was brightly lit and interesting and any frame could be used as a terrific advertising still for the film.  There were scenes in this film that just took me unaware:  a boy and girl filmed only from their mouths down making out in the back seat of a car, or a girl just running down the path in a sundress and boots.  This is a black and white indie film, but it’s no Clerks… whether a shot of a couple sitting on the grass in the park, out on the porch at night, or waking across a bridge in the dark, every scene is beautifully lit and amazingly gorgeous.

The film is shot with a video DSLR camera, and though this means nothing to me, it has meant a whole lot of fantastic to my techie and photographer friends.  I wish I knew if this type of camera was the reason for the beauty of the film, but unfortunately I am not that technically inclined.  However, this is hands down the most gorgeous black and white film I have ever seen.  If you are interested in this type of thing, you definitely need to see this film.

The amount of love I have for the appearance of this film cannot be overstated.  The feelings I have for the film itself however are a bit more subdued.  The main issue for me is that it is very slow. I’m going to issue a couple caveats to my opinion:  1) it is hard for me to pay attention to slower films when I watch them at home (I was given a screener) and 2) Morgan from Cinequesting liked it much more than I did and I respect his opinion.

So I’m not going to pan this movie – Very unlike me, right?  But there was plenty about this film that I DID like and nothing at all that I hated.  The story itself just did not hold my attention.  I am going to recommend that you DO give it a try.  You will be visually rewarded throughout the film and you just might enjoy the story too.

My interview with Director/Writer Zach Weintraub.

Now available on Amazon Instant Video.