Customer Reviews

August Evening

5 star:		(3)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

August evening is bathed in wonderful cinematography and a well acted storyline. Seldom does one stop to smell the roses but the director made sure you got into a meditative mode by including the hypnotic sounds of the captive cicadas.in the background..and colorful cast in the foreground! The motorbike scene is reminiscent of an old Audrey Hepburn movie but instead of riding thru Paris they are in romantic San Antonio . Sit back and enjoy the importance of family..it's going to be a beautiful movie..
B Saldana

This my favorite independent film of 2008. Stunning photography,
beautiful storytelling, powerful emotional resonance...it's the kind of
film that scored well with both critics and audiences. It is also one
of the few films set in Texas that looks and feels like Texas.

The real achievement of this film is the portrayal of family members
trying to communicate, to connect emotionally, despite having possibly
disappointed each other or feeling like they have not lived up to each
other's expectations. The bonds between blood family and those that
come to be as close (or closer) than blood family is at the heart of
this film.

Despite it's humor and touching moments the grim reality of inevitable
change in life is AUGUST EVENING's reveal.

August Evening (2008) is a slower paced family drama with minimal conversations or action. The lengthier movie at 2 hours, allows the viewer to absorb the characters, the emotions, the storyline. I appreciate that the director did not rush this, otherwise you may miss the importance of each character. The film garnered numerous accolades in the film industry.

The photography is beautiful no matter where the landscape is. And, what beautiful soothing music which is in no way intrusive. My understanding is that the characters have little or no previous experience. This is not traditionally a "Mexican" film, but more of Mexicans living in Texas. The actors are from the United States. This is the first acting job for Peter Castenada who plays Jaime, a widow making it though without work and in distant relationships with his family who have moved to United States.

The focus of the film is family and the nature of the relationships that evolve through time. It is a generational separation that takes work to ensure the bond in a Mexican traditional family where it all started. Lupe is Jaime's daughter-in-law, whose husband Manuel died at a young age. She remained with Jaime and his wife in Mexico. Then, a death in the family. Jaime loses his job and he and his loving, nurturing daughter-in-law head on to Texas, a place that has kept family separated. The brief stays at his children's homes don't work out.

There is a love story here, Lupe breaks away from the comfort of her father-in-law, who urges her to marry again.

The writer, director, and editor Chris Eska, said, "My hope is that the project will express emotions that are frequently absent from films today but are ubiquitous in our real lives."

Again, the length was necessary and not rushed. The film mirrors Tokyo Story - Criterion Collection where the parents visit the grown children with discomfort. Now, if you want to see a rushed Indian film with the same premise, but poorly done, Baghban.

.........Rizzo

i came fast, but unfortunatelay the directors commentary does not work. i check it 3 different computers, but does not come up. i really need this commentary for my coursework.

thank you

This movie is in search of one plot. The message kind of gets lost in the delivery in what could have been a tidier, better scripted/directed/acted movie. I realize that this movie had a good buzz, which is why I wanted to see it plus it was supposedly filmed in the central/south central part of Texas where I live. But, the locale was only incidental -- something about greyhound races, some overgrown vegetation and the suburbs. That's about it. If the movie had concentrated on one aspect of these characters' lives instead of trying to be everything to all it might have made more sense. The main character, a woebegone father whose grown-up children seemed to have been raised by wolves rather than the loving parents this man and his deceased wife seemed to be, is paired throughout the movie with his former daughter-in-law (his son was killed prior to the storyline in the movie). She's the only one left to take care of him after both have lost their spouses because his own children are too busy with their lives. However, the association becomes weird and uncomfortable in places. Eventually there's an appropriate romance for her, but she still feels very responsible for the old man, who seems a bit too young to be so old especially his youthful sounding voice. It's a bit much to mesh this "old man" with that voice. What was this viewer expecting? Probably something more lyrical, less reaching (rookie mistake?), more focused, more believable or magical -- but choose a theme. Unless you are totally enamored of the sub-tropical vegetation in south Texas, avoid this movie like a cloud of mosquitoes.

Slower than Scent of Green Papaya, it .. never .. ends. Welcome to Indie Hades, where you must be inferior if you dare speak out against a film. Sorry, but there's nothing interesting in the script, and the agonizing pacing should be considered legal torture.