Summer 1993 (DVD and online)

★★★★★

"Stunning drama...brilliantly realised...miraculous child performances...a jewel. In its subtlety, richness and warmth it is entirely beguiling - complex and simple at the same time.

It is also very moving...What a lovely film it is."

Peter Bradshaw, The Guardian

★★★★★

"An utterly beguiling debut feature from Spanish writer-director Carla Simón."

‘Eloquent…a finely crafted portrait of personal upheaval...It’s such a sad, wise insight into the way children process grief, the way happiness and mourning can coexist. It destroyed me."

Wendy Ide, The Observer

★★★★★

"Carla Simón’s debut feature Summer 1993 is a gem of a film by any standards, but when you learn that its story is based closely on the thirtysomething Catalan director’s own early life, its intimacy becomes almost overwhelming. It has at its heart a simply terrific performance from Laia Artigas as Simón’s six-year-old heroine Frida, the intonations of her face conveying variations of emotion that are powerful beyond anything words could achieve.

It's a profoundly humanistic film, bringing home powerfully the sheer achievement of parenthood, as well as how the surrounding society comes through to show its implicit tolerance...A small, but very special film."

Tom Birchenough, The ArtsDesk

★★★★★

"Simón is building to something here, but she does so in such an unobtrusive manner, allowing small moments to unfold and build in a way that, despite a running time only a little over 90 minutes, has a languorous approach that contributes to the summery feel of the film. Even when the emotional crux of the film comes, Simón never overplays her hand.

A hugely impressive directorial debut."

Sam Inglis, The London Economic

★★★★★

"A fantastic debut...Summer 1993 burns slowly across the screen"

Victor Fraga, DMovies

★★★★★

“A stunning debut… A gorgeous, wistful remembrance of a troubled childhood, whose beguiling naturalism mines a deep vein of emotion…heartbreaking.”

Simon Kinnear, Total Film

★★★★★

'Frida’s discovery of the world is depicted with crystal clarity and extraordinary delicacy in a movie that conveys all the mysteries of childhood and a fair few of its pains. A talent to watch Simón has crafted something special. '

Sergi Sanchez, Time Out

'As Sean Baker did in The Florida Project, Simón allows us, as sentient adults, to intuit a situation while preserving the blithe innocence of the youngsters corralled centre frame.'

Mike McCahill, Cinesthesia

'Rather than revelling in blind nostalgia, Simón reminisces in atmospheres and moods – that which is perceptible to a child...(Simón) presents a humbled reflection on the impact of the AIDS crisis in Catalonia, and further on the extent to which youth predetermines the rest of our lives. In the case of Simón, we are sure to expect wonderful things.'

Lillian Crawford, LITTLE WHITE LIES

"Spain has produced some of cinema’s most resonant child protagonists and there is something of the spirit of Saura’s Cría Cuervos and Erice’s The Spirit of the Beehive in Carla Simón’s beautifully crafted film. Balancing an acute sense of place and time with a broader autobiographical slant, Summer 1993 is a distinctive film realised with heartfelt sensitivity and a keen sense of visual poetry."

'Simón foregoes the bells and whistles of many other family melodramas, crafting instead an extraordinary and beautiful work of grief and memory.'

'Movingly understated and beautifully acted.'

Jeannette Catsoulis, The New York Times

'Uniquely vivid and evocative kind of storytelling reminiscent of The Spirit of the Beehive.'

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times