Summer Movie Blogathon – Summer of ’42 (1971)

This is the finalkof 3 reviews that are part of The Summer Movie Blogathon hosted by Chris of Blog of the Darned.  Tnx for letting me participate!

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“Sometimes life is one big pain in the ass.” – Oscy

Number of Times Seen – 1 (21 Jun 2017)

Brief Synopsis – A young boy and his friends try to become men during a summer on Nantucket Island during the early days of World War II.

My Take on it – This is a film that I’ve been meaning to watch for quiet a while but never got around to it.

I’m glad that this blogathon reminded me of it especially since it really fits into the context of a film about summer.

The characters are very interesting to watch because we get introduced to a number of teenagers who yearn to become men but also know that reaching that point in their live swill have dire consequences since World War II is raging across the ocean.

Loved the way that we are constantly reminded of that fact when characters mentions friends, family and loved one off serving their country and the halo of the war is constantly above their heads.

They do a great job of keeping the story balanced enough between teen angst along with the war being fought across the globe because these are two themes constantly on everyone’s minds.

I liked knowing that this film is based on factual events because it makes the story feel even more real despite knowing that there is no way that it is all 100% true, but rather truthful in the eye of the authors memory of the events.

The actors are all quite good here in keeping things realistic despite the fact that none of them really stand out about the rest.

Their authenticity tho is what makes the film feel even more impactful.

Bottom Line – Very interesting film that manages to balance the story of teen angst set upon the background story of a far away war that they dream about.  The characters are all intriguing to watch because they yearn to become men yet also know the consequences of reaching that age in a world where a war is raging.  The fact that this story is based on the authors true story makes it more impactful because we know that the general gist of it all is close to the truth.  None of the actors really stand out yet each of them do a great job convincing us of their authenticity.  Recommended!

MovieRob’s Favorite Trivia – During an interview on The Mike Douglas Show (1961), Herman Raucher said that after the novel and movie were released, several women wrote letters to him claiming to be Dorothy. One of the letters was indeed from the real Dorothy, who wanted to know if she had psychologically damaged Raucher, and also informed him that had been happily remarried and was now a grandmother. It was the last time that Raucher, by that time married with children, heard from Dorothy. (From IMDB)

Rating – Globe Worthy

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