Summer Of Sangaile

Moody and lyrical seem to fit young Lithuanian teen girls who are discovering first sexual love during one warm summer in Alante Kayaite's successful feature-film debut, "The Summer of Sangaile." Sangaile (Julija Steponaityte), who is terrified of heights but wants the kind of freedom airplane pilots are allowed, is 17, living in a kind of rarified air, who meets her match in Auste (Aiste Dirziute), also 17, a somewhat more experienced young woman who is instantly smitten with this tall, willowy beauty.

The film is much more interested in lyricism than plot or story, so there are lots of lingering shots of sky, lake, clothing, airplanes, faces, and the like, making it somewhat of a chore if you are easily bored with linger. But the bottom-line exploration of young women in love, with each other as well as clothes-designing (Auste) and stunt-plane flying (Sangaile), keep our interest.

It's a beautifully shot film, with minimalist acting from their mostly amateur cast amid the area's scenic beauty. With French and Dutch money buttressing their minuscule Lithuanian budget, it's a commanding debut by Kayaite and the two young actresses, who are wisely not invited to anything emotionally strenuous, allowing the clean emotional lines to play out subtlety.

This is not a film for all - it's slow, deliberate and soft-focus in its delivery. Sexual imagery seems to play out differently between men and women: men generally prefer on-the-nose sexuality, sweaty and brawny; women tend to a softer ideal of romance over carnality. And so it is here. Homophobes will pitch a fit over the idea of female-on-female sensuality, but everyone else will at least get the message that it's perfectly all right for two attractive 17-year-olds to find their own path towards emotional and sexual hegemony.

But Kayaite's notion of freedom in flying (hello, Erika Jong!) may not be original (check out the sexuality of Superman in the air while you're at it), but it is, at the very least, romantic. And the two teens are beautiful and expressive. There's much to be irritated with this film (too many lingering shots on the same thing), but its lyrical view of young love can never be out of style. Plus, it was voted #9 in the French film magazine, Cahiers du Cin�ma's, list of top ten films of 2015. So it's worth a view or two.

"The Summer of Sangaile"
DVD
$27.99
www.strandreleasing.com