'Summer Holiday' follows the format audiences have come to expect from new-wave Romanian cinema - long scenes with fine actors using improvised dialog, filmed in wide shots by hand-held camera. The story unfolds over fifteen or so hours in a chilly coastal resort where 30-something Boogie is spending a few days Spring vacation with his pregnant wife, Smaranda and their young son. He runs into some old friends who persuade him to join them for a drink, and the evening leads to an opportunity for Boogie to misbehave. The film's shortcomings are apparent in the first scene on the beach where Boogie hectors his son for poor sand-castle construction skills and bickers with Smaranda - it's repetitive, lasts too long, and the characters are not particularly engaging. These flaws reappear in too many of the subsequent scenes where the actors portray the petty selfishness, irresponsibility and banality of contemporary life.
Even though the talented cast deliver authentic performances, the story and characters lack sufficient substance to make their efforts truly compelling. Despite the presence of Anamaria Marinca, who was so outstanding in 'Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days', 'Summer Holiday' falls a long way short of the originality and intensity of the earlier film.
Even though the talented cast deliver authentic performances, the story and characters lack sufficient substance to make their efforts truly compelling. Despite the presence of Anamaria Marinca, who was so outstanding in 'Four Months, Three Weeks, Two Days', 'Summer Holiday' falls a long way short of the originality and intensity of the earlier film.