Movie Review
Armed with a familiar story, some questionable dialogues and lots of dancing and fun, Last Summer is one of those movies that is meant to be watched without thinking too much about the plot.
Short Story
The short story here is based on the blossoming romance between the returning 16-year-old Deniz and his childhood crush Asli. Set in 1997 (although the film was released as Summer of '96), the film follows the trials and tribulations of a couple over a long, long summer. And long is probably the best way to describe this movie.
Although the film runs for 1 hour and 40 minutes, the film is closer to 3 hours. Last Summer also starts off pretty slow, and when the plot finally gets going, there's so little going on that it's hard to get invested in the characters.
Story Focus
The story centers on Asli and Deniz's romance, a brief but dull love triangle with lots of partying, beach walks, and thrown in for good measure. There's also some light bickering and bickering, aided by a group of unlikable friends by the sea, but to be honest, it all feels like forgettable fluff to offset what's already a weak story.
As a slice of life examination of first love, Last Summer does a good job at it, but the characters are bland and hard to warm to. The European location of Turkey is certainly a visually pleasing sight, and it is a dream to look at the many sunny areas. I guess that's a good thing, too, because the film feels like it's played out in dull grayscale for large chunks of its runtime.
Drawbacks
The problem with all of this is saturation. There are so many movies dealing with summer romances and love triangles that it's hard to pick any one.
Ironically, last year's Last Summer didn't fare much better, but at least it tried to bring some tension and drama. It is also currently streaming on Netflix. Leaving last summer as a fairly cool and forgettable romantic drama, there really isn't much to say here.