Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		3.5
Audio		3.0
Extras		0.0
Overall		2.5

Indian Summer Blu-ray Movie Review

Metaphor alert!

Reviewed by Martin Liebman November 24, 2011

It’s just a bunch of old cabins.

Indian Summer goes to show that summer camp isn't just a collection of "things," and that it's not just about cabins and wooded areas and lakes and canoes and hikes and activities. That's all the superficial stuff, the necessary basic ingredients for a much more important entity that comes from those things but that is not exactly a product of those things. Summer camp is truly about the friendships, the life lessons, the invaluable experiences that teach not only basic outdoor skills but both a degree of independence and a degree of community. Both prepare campers for the realities of life that are to come, love and work and all of those things that children tend to look at with skepticism, because who wants those things when there's summer camp, fun, and freedom to be enjoyed? Sometimes, though, adults need a gentle reminder, a push back into reality that shows them what was, what is, and what should be. For these few folks, the camping experience is the frame in which they come to see a part of what it is that's shaped them into the people they are and the people they're to become by rediscovering the people they once were, carefree and adventurous but at the same time unwitting participants in a game of getting ready for whatever's to come their way.

Campers.

They've returned from the present to relive the past. Eight adults have been exclusively invited to spend a few days at camp Tamakwa in recognition of camp director "Unca" Lou Handler's (Alan Arkin) imminent retirement. Jamie Ross (Matt Craven), Jack Belston (Bill Paxton), Brad Berman (Kevin Pollak), Matthew Berman (Vincent Spano), Kelly Berman (Julie Warner), Jennifer Morton (Elizabeth Perkins), Gwen Daugherty (Kimberly Williams), and Beth Warden (Diane Lane) make the trip up Tamagwa way by Unca's special, exclusive invitation, the former campers hand picked from the camp's "golden era" of twenty years ago. As the adult campers reconnect with Unca and partake in all of their favorite (and not so favorite) camp rituals, they come to better understand not only who they are, but who they were and who they might again become.

Indian Summer plays around with a relatively good idea, an idea which speaks to the noble pursuit of rediscovery, of dreams, of understanding. It's a Drama about adulthood that's shaped by its characters looking back in an effort to move forward. Outwardly, their second camp experience is much like that of their youths. They perform the same rituals, engage in the same activities, pull the same pranks, rekindle the same relationships, relive the same good times. But it's all a disguise for what their purpose at the camp truly is. They're not there to swim or hike or race but to rediscover themselves, the people they once were, and the people they could once again become. They learn that life isn't about demarcation lines. It doesn't have arbitrary starts and stops that correspond with an age, an education, a look, a feel. Life is organic, a complex element that builds off itself where everything that's to come is shaped by everything that's been. The movie deliberately captures a very low key complexion that allows it to exist sort of in a bubble in time, a bubble that has become stagnant but that suddenly stretches two decades back and, if the campers can understand where they are and why beyond the physical sense, they'll remain in that bubble that will stretch along with them for the rest of their lives. The movie meanders, but that's the point. The story says that life evolves but also stays the same. It can be recaptured by a sight, a sound, a smell, and carried forward not as merely a reminder of a point in time, but as a living part of something larger that just sort of got pushed by the wayside, not completely erased with the passage of time.

It might be a little hard to buy that these folks can remember with such viivid detail the various ins and outs of their camp experience -- the small things, that is, and not "the first kiss" or anything like that -- but the cast does a fine job of selling the idea that they can and indeed have. The movie enjoys a very organic, natural flow. As noted above, it just sort of exists with no real rhyme or reason outside the basic "plot." It's more of a movie about feelings and ideas, feelings and ideas that sort of just swirl around the movie and become a little more evident with each passing moment, whether through heart-to-heart conversations or in the execution of the perfect "shrek." The cast expertly sells the movie, providing a wonderfully natural cadence and while effortlessly selling the idea of who they are who they were. There's a genuine sense of reconnection between them and a very real, very tangible sense of awe and excitement about returning back to a place that in their hearts they still call "home." There's not a weak performance in the bunch, but it's Alan Arkin who steals the show as the camp's retiring director who still guides these kids-at-heart with the same enthusiasm, practice, and care as he did years prior. He exudes plenty of palpable emotion -- even when it's not expressed -- when he's tickled that the campers still remember sailing basics but also saddened when they don't have the time, patience, or desire to watch a moose in the wild, a Tamakwa staple event.

Indian Summer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

Indian Summer is a movie in a state of visual flux. Mill Creek's Blu-ray yields several different visual elements. The movie begins with a cold and borderline grayscale (and intentional; it's offset by the bright titles) structure which gives way to full-blown colors that give flesh tones the consistency of a pumpkin and the general screen something of a heavy-handed orange tint. The movie almost looks like it's on fire, but the transfer evens out with time. Ultimately, the bulk of Indian Summer looks quite good on Blu-ray and is easily one of Mill Creek's best efforts. Colors remain a bit on the warm side but settle down into an enjoyable fall-time palette that nicely accentuates the colorful foliage and the various wooden campground odds and ends. Black crush is evident, but not excessive. Detail and clarity are both quite good, too. Faces look a little flat, but wooden accents are suitably complex and foliage is distinct rather than clumpy. The image retains a slight bit of grain, and pops and scratches are the exception rather than the rule. Banding, blocky backgrounds, and the sort are largely absent. This is a pleasing transfer once it settled into its groove.

Indian Summer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

Indian Summer's DTS-HD MA 2.0 lossless soundtrack isn't snazzy, but it's effective. This is a talk-heavy, low-key track. Dialogue remains clear and grounded in the center. Music enjoys fair spacing and clarity but it won't be mistaken for a live performance. Ambience is scattered adequately across the front, helping to create a very basic recreation of the great outdoors in the form of chirping birds, crunching fallen leaves, and the like. Unlike another recent Mill Creek release, Camp Nowhere, Indian Summer's soundtrack is no stranger to the side speakers. While the range is limited, it's at least a part of the track. This is basic, no-frills stuff that doesn't test the limits of the most or least expensive sound systems, but the material is stable and suits the movie well.

Indian Summer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

Indian Summer falls onto Blu-ray with no extras.

Indian Summer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

Indian Summer is often a joyous little picture about the essence of life. It's a big metaphor for the idea that life isn't about individual times and places but rather an organic entity that builds with experiences that remain integral parts of one's very essence, even if they've been needlessly and, in many cases, mistakenly swept aside. Sometimes life needs a little reconnection, which for these people just happens to be through the rekindling of their youths at summer camp. Strong performances, beautiful locales, sturdy direction, and gorgeous cinematography make Indian Summer a delightful and meaningful little movie. Mill Creek's Blu-ray release of Indian Summer features solid video, decent audio, and no supplements. Mill Creek prices these things to sell, and this one is definitely worth the low price of admission.