Summertime (1955)

Not for the first time, I watch a movie in the summer because of its title. I suspect that I put it on my queue for Katharine Hepburn. Possibly for director David Lean, but despite my love of Lawrence of Arabia and Bride on the River Kwai, his hits rarely do much for me.

Jane (Hepburn) goes alone on vacation to Italy for the first time, specifically to Venice. She makes the acquaintance of a young, apparently orphaned boy with good English skills who alternately begs, attempts shady sales, and does her favors, garnering mixed reactions from her. She also meets shopkeeper Renato (Rossano Brazzi), who initially gives her creepy vibes but rapidly charms his way into her heart. Unfortunately, he doesn't tell her that he has a wife somewhere....

I figure that's not a spoiler if the Netflix jacket says it. Besides, there really isn't much to tell. Jane interacts with a few other tourists, who have their own relationship issues; and with a few other people who serve tourists. These moments can be vaguely amusing or enlightening, but they don't really affect the plot.

You may want to know whether Jane knowingly commits adultery with Renato. Well, the censors wouldn't allow an explicit indicator, but it's hard for anyone over 12 to misread the symbolism. This is something of a running theme for Lean; affairs also feature in Doctor Zhivago and Brief Encounter. And I still don't like it when they're made to look good, even if they don't last. (What is it about Italian culture that keeps inviting stories of questionable relationship decisions?)

At several points, Jane expresses an emotion that I would not have felt in her shoes, making me wonder if I'd missed something. More than that, she strikes me as roughly halfway toward "ugly American." She doesn't mean to be rude, but her infatuation with all things Venice -- taking more photos than anyone with a smartphone, much less a contemporary movie camera, ought -- seems fit to perturb locals. Sometimes she says a few basic Italian words but puts absolutely no effort into the accent. And she has no one to blame but herself when she backs into a canal.

The depicted Venice looks prettier than when I went in 2006, but that may have been authentic for '55; I understand the city's fading. Technicolor comes in handy for capturing beauty. At the same time, the film admits a few blemishes on the face of this paradise, as when someone dumps trash in a canal from a high window.

Summertime wasn't the next Roman Holiday, but neither was it the next Journey to Italy. It's just a fairly credible, simple story with a pretty charming backdrop. See it if that's what you're looking for.

ADDENDUM: This movie includes a scene in which the young boy smokes a cigarette. Maybe it wasn't real, but you've been warned.