At first, Summer ’04 appears to be a story about the problem of lives without clear boundaries. The German film is set in a household that may look odd to many Americans. Prosperous fortysomethings Miriam and Andre are summering in their seaside cottage with their 15-year old son Nils and his 12-year old girlfriend Livia. The age difference is strange; Livia is precocious and sexually untethered while Nils is sulky and withdrawn.
Andre and Miriam are happy by all indications—until everything gets all mixed up. Livia starts flirting with a hunky thirtysomething, Bill, a man who feels soiled for inexplicable reasons by his recently-ended sojourn in the U.S. Bill falls in love with Livia, though he knows it’s wrong and apparently isn’t having sex with her. Miriam and Bill start sleeping together. Nils is indifferent and Andre oblivious.
Director Stefan Krohmer and his cast play it low key. Keeping the border-hopping passion at low heat and the tension strung just so, Summer ’04 makes us wonder about a society where no one is entirely clear about rights and wrongs, the role of parents and the obligations of guests. In the end, the slightly elliptical story hints at larger mysteries and the patterns underlying the apparent chaos that some call fate.
