Le midi, le midi...

Southern France: The sun, beautiful scenery, good wine, relaxation and love. The film SILENT SUMMER readily supplies the desires that one associates with the Mediterranean – and yet surprises you with its refreshing dialogue, talented actors, and a lightness that is a rarity in German cinema.
Three family members and a stranger meet in Nana Neul’s (MY FRIEND FROM FARO) summer film. The 50 year-old Kristine is in a crisis and loses her voice. She decides to take a break and goes to the family’s summer cottage in the Cévennes region of France, where a number of German expatriates now call home. She finds her daughter Anna already there after failing a number of her university exams. Anna has found comfort in the arms of Franck, a sensuous and sensitive young French man, who, in turn, shows an interest in Kristine. A little while later Kristine’s husband Herbert arrives on the scene and he doesn’t find the libertarian experiment amusing. For the first part of the film Herbert is the most cryptic of all the film’s characters. But then mid-film, Neul takes a surprising turn when events are then told from Herbert’s perspective. The reunited family is forced to deal with a dark secret that has threatened the couple’s marriage.
Nana Neul has named Pasolini’s TEOREMA as the inspiration for her film. Yet the film’s smart plot, smouldering passions, and understanding for sexual escapades also recalls Shakespearean comedies such as A MIDSUMMER’S NIGHT DREAM or AS YOU LIKE IT.

Anna Stemmler

Translation: Carla MacDougall