Rest In Peace, Summer 2017

As much as one may vehemently deny it, summer is drawing to a close. We must say a farewell to flip flops, pip pip to popsicles and a bittersweet so long to leg shaving, until the next sunny season rolls around. However us film buffs know that we can use a little artistic license to sustain the sunshine all we want with a little help from the movies. The following is a list of the top five Cynical Cinephile approved flicks guaranteed to extend summer until you’re ready to finally submit to the winter blues.

Roman Holiday

Let’s kick things off with a classic, chock full of all that one can desire from summer; a European getaway, sightseeing, comedy, and most importantly romance. Audrey Hepburn radiates charisma as the Princess who grows weary of her ‘yes, thank you’, ‘no, thank you’ monotonous life at home, in an unstipulated country. Masquerading as a commoner, her peculiar manner amuses reporter Gregory Peck, and a love-story blossoms.

Jaws

Arguably, Jaws does not exude the same feel-good and jovial air as the Hepburn classic. But nonetheless is it synonymous with Summertime, and as the first film to be described as a ‘blockbuster’, it is one of the best of all time. When a ferocious great white shark runs amok in the waters of Amity Island, a police chief, a shark hunter and an oceanographer team up to defeat the beast in a film wrought with tension, and which still retains genuine terror even after four decades.

The Darjeeling Limited

Wes Anderson’s directs his fifth feature, starring regulars Owen Wilson, Adrien Brody and Jason Schwartzman, as three brothers who embark on a train trip around India to rebuild their relationship. Meanwhile, each faces their own personal quandary; obsessions over an ex-girlfriend, fears of being a husband, and a secret plan to find their estranged mother. Anderson’s trademark symmetrical visual style is as striking as ever with India as the backdrop, and the gradual reconnection of the three brothers is touching to say the least.   

Adventureland

If a crummy part-time job during the holidays as a youth doesn’t scream summer then what can? Set in 1987, James (Jesse Eisenberg) acquires a job at a dilapidated theme park after financial problems scupper his plans of travelling Europe before going off to journalism grad school. There he befriends co-worker Em (Kristin Stewart), and thus begins his first real romance. Frank, funny, and warm, Adventureland is a delight that sincerely yet light-heartedly illustrates the ups and downs of becoming an adult.

Stand by me

Rob Reiner’s 1986 film, adapted from the Stephen King novella, The Body, is surely the epitome of the coming-of-age genre. The plot hinges on the journey of four young boys in a small town in Oregon who set out to locate the body of a missing child. The charming performances of the child actors strike a sentimental chord, and although the themes are very mature, the story is one that reminds us of one of the simplest of joys; being young, and having good friends.

MS