May in the Summer Blu-ray Movie

Rating summary

Movie		3.5
Video		4.5
Audio		4.0
Extras		2.0
Overall		3.5

May in the Summer Blu-ray Movie Review

The summer knows.

Reviewed by Jeffrey Kauffman February 4, 2015

The news from the Middle East is typically so dispiriting, with various ethnicities and nations wreaking regular havoc on each other, that it’s almost difficult to think of the region as housing actual individuals with that good old fashioned Western standby, the dysfunctional family. That disparity is addressed somewhat wryly in the appealing May in the Summer, a film which has been unspooling for a rather long time, having premiered at Sundance in early 2013 but which (at least according to the IMDb) was still making various festival rounds as late as November 2014. May in the Summer takes place in Amman, Jordan, where successful novelist May Brennan (Cherien Dabis), a half- American half-Jordanian hybrid, returns to her mother’s home in Amman in anticipation of her upcoming nuptials. There’s trouble on the horizon from virtually the get go, however, due not just to the traditional vagaries of an adult “child” returning to the roost, but also due to the fact that May’s fiancé, a Columbia University professor, does not accompany her, instead (according to May) intending to show up closer to the actual wedding date. May in the Summer is a quietly observational film, one which offers gentle humor and some probably overly dramatic histrionics, but one which also offers a really interesting portal into both Jordanian culture and the disconnect that many progeny of so-called “mixed marriages” often feel (and I am personally one of those “half breeds” who has learned to navigate various cultures and/or religions, something that can be kind of treacherous at times as one is both a member and a non-member of individual groups). More anecdotal than organically narrative, May in the Summer is a fun if not overly dynamic character piece which may appeal to those who like unusual locales and an instantly accessible family dynamic.

From the first sequence of May in the Summer, an airport reunion of May with her two sisters Yasmine (Nadine Malouf) and Dalia (Alia Shawkat), the film’s strengths and weaknesses are firmly on display. There’s a beautifully naturalistic interplay between the three actresses playing the siblings, and May’s troubled mien contrasts nicely with Dalia’s kind of slightly brusque manner. But middle sister Yasmine seems like a cipher, a character whose sole purpose is evidently to spill various beans at various points throughout the film and then apologize for having a big mouth. A subplot involving her career goes nowhere (evidently much like her career, ironically). Here writer-director Cherien Dabis reveals a tendency to rely on characteristics rather than actual character, something that occasionally hobbles this largely commendable effort.

The film is split into various vignettes which typically begin with an aphorism, most if not all of which I assume come from Jordanian culture. One of the first of these, which reminds (perhaps ruefully) that even adults turn back into children when they go back home, plays artfully into the reunion between May and her divorced mother Nadine (Hiam Abbass). Nadine is a rather fervent Christian, something that has become increasingly problematic for May since May’s fiancé Ziad (Alexander Ziddig, constrained mostly to a voice part courtesy of phone calls) is a Muslim. That tension is central to May in the Summer’s overall arc, but Dabis is content to gently poke fun at both “camps” (so to speak) rather than get involved in a new Middle East crisis or some cinematic version thereof.

The plot, already becoming gelatinous with too many ingredients, thickens yet again when May and her sisters go to visit their estranged father, an American expat diplomat of some kind named Edward (Bill Pullman). Edward has since married a young Arab woman about May’s age, obviously driving first wife Nadine a little batty in the process. May’s halting attempts to reestablish a connection with her father provides a bit of grist for this overstuffed mill, while a series of other subplots unfold, including (but not necessarily limited to) May having doubts about her upcoming nuptials, Dalia’s sexual preferences, Edward’s proclivity toward having affairs, and the daughters’ attempts to get their mother into a new romantic relationship.

As might be apparent from that above summary, May in the Summer doesn’t want for plot strands, but things are never woven together overly tightly here, giving the film a feeling of being a series of vignettes, something that’s only reinforced by the aphoristic segment titles that pop up now and again. Still, May in the Summer proves to be a largely entertaining and even satisfying experience. There’s a glimpse at a “normal” (meaning completely dysfunctional) family life here in the unusual locale of Amman, and it’s totally original to see three sisters of this particular “mixed” descent trying to navigate both of their ancestral-genetic cultures and relatives to (ironically) mixed effect. It might be overly convenient to call May in the Summer a breath of fresh air, but the film is at least analogous to a warm summer breeze, evanescent but refreshing.

May in the Summer Blu-ray Movie, Video Quality 

May in the Summer is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Cohen Media Group with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 2.39:1. Digitally shot with the Arri Alexa, May in the Summer doesn't offer an incredibly vivid palette, instead luxuriating in a range of whites, beiges, and tans courtesy of the really interesting looking urban environment of Amman. Dabis tends to favor close-ups and even extreme close-ups, and those can offer substantial fine detail (I've included some examples in the screenshots accompanying this review). Most of the outdoor material is very brightly lit and scenes like the girls' lunch with their Dad or, later, the tennis game between Edward and May pop quite nicely, with very appealing sharpness and clarity. Things are just a bit more murky in some of the nighttime material, as in a bar scene or some of the interior material at Nadine's apartment. There are no issues with compression artifacts and the image is nicely stable throughout the presentation.

May in the Summer Blu-ray Movie, Audio Quality 

May in the Summer features a lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track largely in English (some Arab material features forced English subtitles). That said, whoever is authoring Cohen's discs for them has once again had the disc default to the lossy Dolby Digital 5.1 audio track at boot up, an odd (and relatively recent) decision that is going to rankle some audiophiles (though it will at least give them a reason to press a button or two on their remotes, always a good stress reliever). The film is almost entirely dialogue driven and the 5.1 track really only opens up courtesy of elements like urban noises and sequences like a fairly brief scene inside a nightclub. Fidelity is excellent and there are no issues of any kind to report.

May in the Summer Blu-ray Movie, Special Features and Extras 

• Theatrical Trailer (1080p; 2:27)


• Behind the Scenes with Cherien Dabis (1080p; 2:09) is more of an interview piece.


• Photo Gallery (1080p; 1:40)

May in the Summer Blu-ray Movie, Overall Score and Recommendation 

May in the Summer is a somewhat unique hybrid, kind of like its focal character May and her sisters. The film ambles along rather gracefully but never ends up going much of anywhere, residing instead in an affable but kind of lightweight ambience that is often gently amusing and at times moving. Performances are wonderful throughout, though, and the film's depiction of a splendidly dysfunctional Jordanian-American family is never less than entertaining. Technical merits are very strong, and May in the Summer comes Recommended.