Thin story in a marvelous setting, this little movie about a repressed spinster out of her depth certainly is one of Hollywood's formulaic travelogues about Europe, but the charm of the bygone tourist era of 1950s adds an interesting angle that wasn't available to the viewers of the time.David Lean throws Venice at Katherine Hepburn in all its history, colors and splendor. If someone finds her performance somewhat overstated, she hardly had any choice to avoid letting the movie drift away from her and melt into a tourist commercial. Forced to act against an entire city, she holds her own well. It takes a while before Hepburn's lonely figure and Venice find a common note. She dreams of love and company but wherever you go, there you are. By the time Rossano Brazzi's smooth but not sleazy suitor appears, he feels more like a manifestation of Venice than a real person, part of the city unable to exist outside the lagoon.

Watching Summertime kind of feels like going on a holiday, it just has that summer like feel to it which is hard to describe. The film doesn't have the epic scope of David Lean's Lawrence of Arabia or Doctor Zhivago yet it still has that same epic feel. I've never been to Venice but with the European cities I have been to, you know that they feel like time capsules. Summertime also feels like a documentary that could have been filmed in subsequent decades (whenever 1950's fashion isn't apparent on screen) adding to the timeless aspect of the film. I often say it but the world itself is the greatest movie set of them all. Just as impressive is the sound design. The ambient noise of footsteps, dogs barking, birds singing or music in the faint background; Summertime is a good movie to have playing the in the background to create atmosphere in your own house. I am however disappointed to report however the UK DVD release of Summertime from Second Sight is pan & scan only, shame on you!Katharine Hepburn plays a tourist who exhibits a number of stereotypical tourist habits including the need to record everything she sees, I guess that's not such an annoying modern trait (all that is missing are the selfies). At least though she is an independent spinster who wants to see the authentic side of another country and not the phony stuff in comparison to the couples she meets who fall for the tourist traps and guided tours. This is one of the aspects of Summertime which I can relate to as the older I get I have less patience for organised group trips abroad and just want to go off for an adventure at my own will. That and the romantic fantasy of going to an exotic place by yourself in search of love. At its heart Summertime is a deeply tragic film once we discover just how lonely Katharine Hepburn's character is as she tries to mask her emotion and not feel awkward when conversing with married couples. We know little of this character's background and why she is going on holiday on your own? David Lean may be known for his epic visuals, but the man can create an incredibly emotional story (I still say the ending of Brief Encounter is one of the most powerful film moments I've ever witnessed). Summertime draws a number of parallels to Brief Encounter and of course the movie ends with the two being separated at a train station as he rushes to get their before the train leaves. It's a cliché ending used for decades but for good reason I believe.

No, no, no, no, no. I could NOT watch Katharine Hepburn try to look like anything but the Italian dude's mother! Yes, the scenes of Venice are gorgeous; it made me nostalgic. I even saw the exact same statue I took a picture of when I was there; great to relate that way to a movie. But I'm sorry, Audrey Hepburn, YES. Katherine, not so much. But because I hate to come across like every woman in a movie should be some young nubile thing, let me make this clear: the Italian due was poorly cast. Katharine Hepburn looked like the middle-age schoolteacher. The Italian guy looked like a womanizer; it was hard for me to see him as anything but someone trying to pull one over on our dear Katharine.

The somewhat astringent personality of Katharine Hepburn is well suited for this movie, in which she plays Jane Hudson, a middle-aged woman who has apparently been too guarded or puritanical ever to enjoy a grown-up romance. At the same time, the Rossano Brazzi character, Renato, is an opportunist, adding a dimension of realism to Jane's habitual caution and suspicion.No surprise, then, that in the end she abruptly puts a stop to their romance, even though it causes her so much pain to do so. Renato wants the romance to continue but seems to have no intention of divorcing his wife and seems heedless of the enormous gulf that separates him from Jane--different worlds, different world views. It is a bittersweet ending like that of David Lean's earlier movie, Brief Encounter.The movie has been criticized as being something of a "travelogue," but the story would have had far less meaning if it had been set in New York or even Paris. Venice is a magical place, a seemingly impossible city that nevertheless exists as a jewel on the surface of the sea. No other city could so clearly be the setting for the once-in-a-lifetime magical experience of a spinster secretary from Akron.In any case, the location filming of Venice is a delight to behold.Another likely criticism, from a feminist viewpoint, is that Jane is portrayed as less than complete without a man. I find this criticism beside the point of the film, which is that romance is an experience that most people want to have at least once in their life.