Boys will be boys Kings of summer are not tanned surfers, conquering the sea element and maiden hearts, melting from the hot sun. So the director named three teenagers – Joe, Patrick and Biaggio – decided to settle for the summer in his own built flimsy structure in the depths of the forest. 15-year-old boys, without asking their parents’ permission, abandon the blessings of civilization for the sake of the attractive freedom not to go to bed at the agreed time and not to eat terrible vegetable soup.
They are waiting for a summer of free life and bright, irrepeatable emotions, and the viewer - a summer of revealing almost adult characters and, perhaps, a sense of nostalgia for their best Summer. The disparity of the characters - determined Joe, practical Patrick and strange Biaggio - adds a sense of tangibleity to the nature of what is happening, in contrast to the unrealistic plastic life in the circle of adults. Far from parental influence, new personalities begin to sprout. Of course, this does not apply to Biaggio - unsolved neither for the viewer nor for the friends of the character. Hanging between childhood and youth, Biaggio saves more than one episode of the film with his almost philosophical attitude to life, resulting in absurd humor, then in the true depth of sadness.
In his debut feature film, the director tries to dynamically combine joy with resentment, first love with first jealousy, decorating the plot twists and turns with atmospheric and nostalgic fragments borrowed from Terrence Malick.
Of course, running away from home, albeit from overly intrusive parents, is not a feat. But for a generation that is no longer easy to tear itself away from video games and social networks, such an adventure can be considered the first step in its own right.
7 out of 10
Original