The Summer of Sangaile (2015)

Touches You

Pretty Good

Highly Overrated But Still Good

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

First of all, I apologize for using this space to submit a request about this film's soundtrack, rather than writing a review on the film itself. Nevertheless, I would like to comment briefly on the story and the photography: The story is interesting and even though there is no plot as such, the love relationship developed between the two girls (main characters) in the film is portrayed in a spontaneous and natural fashion that I found particularly appealing. The photography and the scenery settings, especially those shot on very high places (the high voltage pylon and the plane performing acrobatics) are breathtaking. I don't remember having seen any Lithuanian movies before, and watching this film was a very valuable opportunity for me to get a glimpse of the culture in that country. Now, what I found extraordinarily beautiful is the music in the film, most especially, a fragment that I would like to know whether it is part of the original soundtrack or whether it was taken from another composer (Tchaikovsky, perhaps?)'s musical piece. On one of the occasions this brief musical piece is heard, it occurs approximately 15 minutes before the end credits. I would appreciate if somebody could enlighten me on this point.

It can't get any more beautiful than this. I have seen many lesbian films, but this one was like a result of when a poet and an artist comes together. It was so poetic, as well as an enchanting video portrait. Not everything in the film was pleasant, I mean not the romance parts, but you know self hurting parts as one got depressed in their life. That's where it all begins, an awesomely written screenplay where most of the film remains dialogueless. All you have to do is sit back and enjoy the stunning cinematography and a cute little romance the blends with that.This is a Lithuanian film, but internationally co-produced. It won some awards at the various film festivals. It was officially selected as the Lithuanian entry for the 88th American Academy Awards, but did not make it. Written and directed by a woman filmmaker and this is her second feature film. I hope she makes more films like this with characters with emotions, then she will be in my watch out list. There's no comparable with any other lesbian film as many people doing. This is a very unique, especially in the storytelling segment. Most importantly, anybody with no objection on some sex-romance will do understand and appreciated the artistic presenstation of this film.The title itself a plot line. So you know the storyline, but for how it all happens need to be watched. Sangaile is in her summer holiday, spending time with her parents in a rural villa. Near the house, there's an airfield where some spectacular display taking place, she instantly falls in love with that. That's where she meets a girl named Auste, who seems very interested in her. So later they decide to hang out and do the stuffs. After a few meets, with ups and downs, there relationship intensely grows, but how far it goes and how the story ends was told in the remaining parts."You know nobody will understand you better than me."Not the entire film is about the romance that jumps into the bed. There are some messages, like how one influence the other one to change her character. Like depressed and lost, and got no idea about the future, a new hope rises like a sun for the new day after a long winter. The romance between two different social classes and their field of interest, all those fills the film on all the sides with its own colours like a Rubik's cube. The other advantage was the greatly ignoring the common clichés, especially from a lesbian film aspect.Films are collections of many things. From the actors to filmmakers to technicians and locations, when these all get together accurately, a beautiful product like this emerges. That's where it succeeded. First the actors, everyone, but the majority of the tale focused between the two characters and those two were brilliant. They executed so perfectly as it was real. You won't get that kind of great chemistry in all the romance film you watch. There are many moments that feels like it was paused, in a good sense as a romantic, as well as visually.Then comes the locations. As it is set in the rural, they explored the landscapes excellently. They were not intended to give preferences on those, but while capturing the film scenes, they used some interesting angles to get those beautiful backgrounds. As I said earlier, the images talk more than the film characters. The music score was also very good. The overall film looks like a touch of the 60s or 70s, but there's no any clarifications about the timeline. Seeing the lifestyle, all the gadgets et cetera, it is obviously a modern day tale.Observe everything carefully in the film. The film characters, the story, as well as production design was very simple. Like they did not spend much for making it. Yet it delivered big. Sadly, this is not a well recognised film, not much from LGBT film fanatic friends as well. I haven't seen many Lithuanian films, but surely this is one of the best from that region I have seen. You know who's the target audience for this, but the film is too good, so I hope you make a right choice. Though it is for adults, there's nothing much serious to consider in the romance/sex/nudity parts, so the matured and open minded teens can try this. Recommended!7.5/10

Sangaile is a 17 year old girl in love with acrobatic planes but is afraid of heights. She is lonely and cuts herself. She befriends Auste who lives nearby. Auste photographs Sangaile in her fashion designs and the two begin a summer romance. Auste helps Sangaile gain confidence to take flight.The photography is dreamy. The girls are waif-like. The plot is thin. The drama is limited. The intensity is low. This Lithuanian indie provides another entry into the lesbian teen genre. The plane flying and vertigo could have been interesting but the movie fails to give it the visual effect. The teen girl angst is done as expected but nothing more. This is barely a pass.

Beautiful cinematography, beautiful colours and lighting, very pleasing to watch. I also really enjoyed the work with sound, enhanced at exactly the right moments, appreciated the great attention to details and small things -this is also where the sound editing comes in perfectly. Each shot was well-considered. However, the story line isn't very interesting and you can hardly see any character development, the dialogue mostly feels fake and uncomfortable. The main character seems to be reacting to things that the viewer hasn't been introduced to or at least hasn't been motivated enough to feel sympathy for, so the character's actions really annoyed me at times. Overall I really enjoyed the movie, but I would have wanted some more plot development.