Summer 1993

Summary

The film follows Frida (Laia Artigas), a six year old girl who must leave her home in Barcelona following the death of her mother. Frida moves to the Catalan countryside with her aunt Marga (Bruna Cusí), her uncle Esteve (David Verdaguer), and their three year old daughter, Anna (Paula Robles). The movie takes place during the summer of 1993 as Frida adapts to her new life in the country and her role as older sister to her cousin. At first, Frida has difficulties adjusting, as the environment she is surrounded by in the countryside is vastly different from that which she knew in the city. At one point, Frida even considers running away. However, as the film progresses, Frida begins to integrate with her new family and enjoy spending time with them at the pool and at home, where she is seen dancing with her adoptive father. The film concludes at the end of the summer, when Frida finally begins to express her true emotions in the presence of her new family.

Cast

Laia Artigas as Frida

Paula Robles as Anna

Bruna Cusí as Marga

David Verdaguer as Esteve

Fermí Reixach as Avi (Abuelo)

Isabel Rocatti as Avia (Abuela)

Montse Sanz as Lola

Etna Campillo as Irene

Berta Pipó as Tieta Angela

Paula Blanco as Cesca

Quimet Pla as Gabriel

Dolores Fortis as Carnissera

Tere Sola as Senyora Carnisseria

Josep Torrent as Doctor

Cristina Matas as Infermera

Noemi Pinana as Organizadora

Ricard Catalina as Matador

Jordi Figueras as Blai

Arnau Ferrer as Cosi

Plot

Frida, a six-year-old girl, sits in her deceased mother's apartment in Barcelona as her extended family packs it up. Frida's grandmother teaches her the Lord's Prayer and gives her a card from her mother's first communion. Frida's leaves Barcelona with her aunt and uncle, Marga and Esteve, for their home in the countryside. Frida begins adjusting to life with her three-year-old adoptive sister, Anna, and the animals on the family farm. Frida finds a statue of Saint Rita of Cascia in the woods. Throughout the film, she returns to this spot to leave gifts for her mother.

Marga introduces Frida to others in the town while running errands, and acquaintances discuss whether Frida's mother died of pneumonia or something else. Marga takes Frida to a doctor's office. On the way there, Frida is upset and throws a comb offered to her by Marga out the window. Frida gets blood drawn, and she says that her doctor in Barcelona had said that no more tests were needed. The doctor tells Marga that they want more tests to be sure that Frida is healthy, "considering her background," and he prescribes antihistamines for an itchy spot on Frida's arm.

At home, Frida and Anna play at mother and daughter: Frida puts on makeup and repeats to Anna that she's sore and needs to rest. Marga, Frida, and Ana go into town and watch a group of children practicing for the town's Feast of Saint James procession. Afterwards, a group of children plays on a playground. Frida attempts to talk to another girl, Irene, who keeps running away from her. Irene makes Frida 'it' in the group's game of tag. When Frida trips and scrapes her knee, Irene's mother panics and admonishes her daughter, saying she told her not to touch Frida. Marga carries Frida home and cleans the wound.

Frida's grandparents surprise the family with a visit. They tell Marga and Esteve that they want to begin visiting weekly, but Lola reminds them that the existing arrangement is what Frida's mother requested.

Another day, Anna repeatedly asks Frida to play. Eventually, Frida leads Anna out to the forest and tells her to wait for her to return. After Frida returns to the house, Marga asks her if she has seen Anna, and Frida says she hasn't. She goes to look for Anna herself where she told her to wait, but does not find her. Later that day, Marga carries Anna, who now wears a cast on her arm, into the house. Frida overhears Marga and Esteve arguing about her behavior.

Inspiration

In an article by Academia. La Revista del Cine Español, Simón explains that she was inspired to make the film by her own experiences as a child. When Simón was six years old, her mother died as a result of AIDS, and she moved in with her aunt, uncle, and cousin on her mother's side of the family. Simón explains that the movie has helped her to come to terms with her past, and she hopes that the same may be true for audience members who watch the film. In fact, many of the scenes were shot in the same town in which Simón grew up with her aunt, uncle, and cousin.

In an interview with Inside Cinema, Simón explains that many of the scenes in the film were based on pictures of her childhood. Several of these scenes include Frida and Anna climbing the tree, Frida and Anna in the bathtub, Frida painting her face with makeup, Frida and Anna washing their dresses, and Marga, Esteve, Frida, and Anna in the bed together. Certain set locations were also based on Simón's childhood home, such as the pool bar and the forest. In an interview with Variety, Simón explains that she wanted to follow the spontaneity of the young actors with her filming, opting for longer shots whenever possible.

Production

The companies that produced Summer 1993 were Inicia Films and Avalon. The film was produced by Valérie Delpierre and co-produced by María Zamora and Stefan Schmitz. Its executive producers were Delpierre and Zamora. Summer 1993 was written and directed by Carla Simón and edited by Ana Pfaff and Dídac Palou. The camerawork was done by Santiago Racaj. On opening night, the film made $21,307. In the All-Time Domestic Box Office ranking, the film is ranked 11,528th with $185,903 in revenue (not adjusted for inflation). Internationally, the film made $2,565,941 in total as of April 20, 2023.

Reception

Critical response

Summer 1993 has an approval rating of 100% on review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, based on 93 reviews, and an average rating of 8.1/10. The website's critical consensus states: "Summer 1993 (Estiu 1993) finds writer-director Carla Simón drawing on personal memories to create a thoughtful drama elevated by outstanding work from its young leads. Metacritic assigned the film a weighted average score of 81 out of 100, based on 19 critics, indicating "universal acclaim".

On the film review website RogerEbert.com, Odie Henderson gives the film three stars out of four. He explains how, since Frida's perspective remains enveloped in her childhood experiences throughout the film, it is the job of the viewer to parse out important details that Frida doesn't understand. Henderson notes that the film uses the motif of blood to allude to the cause of Frida's parents' deaths (illness linked to AIDS), since the adults in the film never explain the cause to Frida directly. Surrounding the deaths, Henderson highlights, is a deep feeling of shame for the characters who are old enough to understand the implications.

Peter Bradshaw of The Guardian gives Summer 1993 five stars, titling his review "stunning drama of a childhood ripped apart." Bradshaw calls the film "subtle" and "rich" and praises Simón's ability to create meaning through the numerous scenes of Frida and Anna playing. He also notes the strength of the performances of Laia Artigas (Frida) and Paula Robles (Anna), explaining that acting at that age is different from what it is as an adult. For these actresses, Bradshaw suggests, the action of the film "is real." In addition, Summer 1993 is listed as a NYT Critic's Pick. Jeannette Catsoulis of The New York Times notes the emotions that are communicated through the film, culminating in what she describes as "gentle catharsis."