Summer 1993

2017 ‘Estiu 1993’ Directed by Carla Simón

A new family. A new world.

After her mother's death, six-year-old Frida is sent to her uncle's family to live with them in the countryside. But Frida finds it hard to forget her mother and adapt to her new life.

Laia Artigas Bruna Cusí David Verdaguer Paula Robles Isabel Rocatti Montse Sanz Berta Pipó Etna Campillo Paula Blanco Quimet Pla Josep Torrents Noemí Piñana Ricard Catalina Jordi Figueras Arnau Ferrer

Alternative Titles

Verão 1993, 1993년 여름, 프리다의 그해 여름, Sommer 1993

drama

96 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Sean Baker 5

I was recommended to watch this film because of similarities to The Florida Project. Really happy I was turned on to it. Very reminiscent of Ponette.
A six year old girl deals with the death of her parents and adjusting to a new family. Top notch performances and very strong feature debut film by Carla Simón.
Looks like Oscilloscope will be releasing the film in the States sometime soon. (early 2018)
Review by Juan Castillo ★★★★½ 6

Mayúsculo ejercicio de recreación de lugares, experiencias y sentimientos.
Carla Simón necesitaba explicarnos su verano de 1993 y ahora podemos afirmar que el cine necesitaba que lo hiciese de esta manera. Desde esa perspectiva, dejando que las piezas encajen mediante minúsculas epifanías, trazando un círculo perfecto alrededor de un desconocido llamado dolor y con tres inmensas actrices afinadas con tesón.
Estiu 1993 es la infancia en toda su complejidad. Es también un testimonio cargado de autenticidad sobre las dinámicas de pertenencia. Es diminuta y espectacular.
Y sin que ningún monstruo visite a nadie.
Review by Filbrick Pines ★★★★½

Durante gran parte de los veranos que viví en los 90, llamé hogar a una pequeña granja en plena entrada de un pueblecito catalán. No os podéis imaginar lo fidedigna que es esta película plasmando cada pequeña idiosincrasia vagamente relacionada con ello.
Lo increíble, aún así; es que es igual de fiel o más plasmando la naturaleza más cruda de la infancia y lo que es enfrentarse por primera vez a la pérdida de un ser querido a través de esos ojos. Pocas veces he visto a alguien tratar ese tema de una forma tan directa y sincera, sin acobardarse en ningún momento ni azucarar situación alguna para el espectador. Y, la verdad, creo que es algo con lo que es inevitable conectar, fueran como fueran nuestros respectivos veranos.
Review by marcelo

Creo que ninguna película que yo haya visto (se me ocurren, a su manera, Boyhood y El espíritu de la colmena, la única con la que se me ocurriría comparar esto en realidad es Mi vecino Totoro) está tan comprometida con plasmar lo que es la infancia -la auténtica infancia-, la de escuchar a los mayores susurrándose cosas importantes, despertarte en casas extrañas y tener que tocar las paredes y entender cómo funcionan sus grifos, la infancia de cagarla de formas absurdas para un adulto y de no entender del todo por qué estás triste.
Es de admirar la capacidad de Simón para mantener en todo momento la perspectiva infantil, con esos pequeños angulares y la cámara a la altura…
Review by laura ★★★★½ 1

grief isn’t any less painful when told through the eyes of a child. it’s a pain that is so palpable. a loss of innocence. one of the most nuanced, poignant performances i’ve seen from a child actor, on the same level as noah jupe in honey boy & brooklynn prince in the florida project.
Review by laurareckless ★★★★★ 2

me, crying for no reason: what the fuck now I like children
Review by Lucy ★★★ 1

AFI 2017: film #7
quaint, but is that enough? who knows. also i was exhausted during this so who am i to judge
Review by Jeff! ★★★★½

Summer 1993 captures precisely what’s it like to grieve as a child. You’re too young to really explain or even go through the proper emotions, it just feels like a sudden shift in your life that you don’t completely understand and that’s what the film does so well. You slowly learn information, just bits and pieces just as a child would, it constantly feels like you’re missing out on the really important conversations just as a child would. You’re an outsider just as a child is.
Review by Mike D'Angelo ★★★ 9

56/100
A.V. Club review, in which I spare readers my horror at the realization that people who were small children in 1993 are now old enough to make movies reminiscing about it. I spent that summer working on an indie film myself, alongside friends who were all three years out of college. (It never got released.)
Review by Jacob ★★★

AFI Fest 2017: Movie #12
There's no denying that Summer 1993 has a lot of heart. Taking an almost documentary approach, Carla Simon brings her own experiences to the big screen in a truly authentic way. At a certain point, though, the naturalistic style becomes a weakness. It's wonderful to see these children explore and just be generally adorable, but after eight scenes of that, I get a little impatient. I'm a fan of films that meander in their circumstances and landscapes in the name of developing character, but even that aspect fell to the back here.
The peripheral action is so much more compelling than what we get in the foreground. Whispers of a virus float around Frida, and though…
Review by Steve G 🐝 ★★★★

The World Is More Than Enough 8: Ladies Take Letterboxd (3/30 - Spain)
World Tour 2020
Carla Simón's lovely feature debut has drawn immediate comparisons to The Florida Project but there's one really major difference between these two films.
Summer 1993 is based on a small chunk of Simón's own childhood, where she went to live with her uncle's family after both of her parents died as a result of complications arising from AIDS. From what I can gather, the events depicted here are extremely close to Simón's own experiences.
I find this far, far more impressive than I normally would. As I've said a bunch of times before, I really don't care if a film is an accurate representation…
Review by wilson ★★★★★ 2

I'm a fucking mess

Recent reviews

Review by allison

it's kind of like i'm being reminded of when i was miserable as a child and the stuff i didn't mean to do and the times i'm sorry for and how those things are very much apart of me now
Review by leilazanahoria ★★★½

Con un ritmo tranquilo y una fotografía muy cuidada se alza este testimonio de la infancia de una niña huérfana que se adapta a su nueva familia, una situación compleja.
Una película naturalista y sensorial con un transfondo muy profundo y realista.
Me gustó mucho la escena en la que Anna y Frida hacen de madre e hija, también destaco el diálogo que tienen ambas cuando se conocen:
Frida: No puedes tocar mis muñecas, porque son mías y si las tocas, las romperás. ¿Lo prometes? ¿Sabes por qué me han regalado tantas?
Anna: ¿Por qué?
Frida: Pues porque me quieren mucho. Los que me las han regalado, me quieren mucho. Y tu no las puedes tocar. ¿Me lo prometes?
Anna: Sí, te lo prometo.
Ya por el final de la película Frida le regala una de sus muñecas a Anna, me pareció muy bonito.
El final 💔.
Review by andrew

beautiful
Review by insomnyck ★★★★

final 10 seconds ruined me
Review by mariaal ★★★½

the ending made me tear up such a sad movie
Review by Hunter Lawson ★★★★

A bandaid can help heal a wound but the scar will never leave.
One of the best examples of directing I’ve seen. The amount of raw emotion Carla Simón was able to get out of those two children...wow. The writing was equally as amazing. The small moments told the story more than the major plot points. Ie. Frita sitting in the car, throwing dirt and Mother Mary, and crying in the end.
Review by Azul Valeria ★★★★½

El duelo de perder a una madre desde la perspectiva de una niña de seis años, qué belleza de película 💗.
Review by caro_o ★★★★½

Anthem for angry girls with dead mothers
Review by Glanc ★★½

PL: kilka interesujących scen, z których w sumie nic nie wynikło
Review by Bawua ★★★

Subtle, natural and affectionate coming of age drama. You can read my full review here: generation-reporter.blogspot.de/search/label/estiu
Review by Elif Uslusoy ★★★★½

Not a masterpiece obviously, but a personal favorite.
Review by lola contreras ★★★★★

PORFA VEANLA GRACIAS