PG - Coarse Language.  Not Recommended for Young Children.

Zack Weintraub’s BUMMER SUMMER is as much about what it is not as what it is. Part road movie, part coming-of-age tale, this indie gem is a beautiful counterpoint to the wave of current films in America that are heavy on talk and self-indulgence and low on photographic austerity.

Gorgeous, crisp black-and-white imagery (shot on new DSLR cameras) focuses longingly on a group of three young people as they waste a summer looking for a hedge maze in a nearby county. High school senior Isaac follows his big brother Ben (Weintraub) and his old flame Leanna on a trip that is, by design, ambiguous and full of long stretches of sweet emptiness. Youth has the luxury of few responsibilities and infinite choices, and this film tastefully explores the themes of wasteful time and natural splendour.

Slow and improvised, BUMMER SUMMER reminds us that not all independent cinema is dependent upon clever, over-orchestrated plot, but actually can speak volumes in the absence of drama and be precious with the smallest of scenery.

TS