The intimacy of the story-telling here is deeply moving. Director Carla Simon created space for performances of truly extraordinary naturalism from everyone in the cast, especially the two young girls.

| Oct 12, 2021

Refreshingly, Simón's take on the "summer that changed everything" movie is delicate and unsentimental, earning an emotional response simply by exploring how a child interprets loss from the child's perspective and at the child's pace.

| Sep 25, 2018

...a wonderfully honest and gracefully directed insight into the world of children.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 3, 2018

Frida's gaze governs everything, taking you back to the mysteries, the insecurities - and the joys - of being six.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Aug 2, 2018

Summer 1993 is, at its core, a sad, potentially tragic tale of emotional survival. It meanders. It ends almost randomly. But the truth of its emotions sticks in the mind.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 23, 2018

A deeply personal child's-eye view of loss, Summer 1993 is an utterly beguiling debut feature from Spanish writer-director Carla Simón.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 14, 2018

In its subtlety, richness and warmth it is entirely beguiling - complex and simple at the same time. It is also very moving.

| Original Score: 5/5 | Jul 12, 2018

The film doesn't detour or disturb, doesn't serpentine or surprise, as great cinema can. It just puts everything on the thematic picnic plate and tells us to get eating.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 11, 2018

Impeccably performed by its young leads and nurturing supporting cast, this deeply personal picture particularly impresses in the closing scenes, which are quietly devastating in their intimacy, insight and truth.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jul 11, 2018

A slow-moving summer, but one worth seeing through.

| Original Score: 3/5 | Jul 9, 2018

Not since Boyhood has a film shown this much respect and understanding for what it's like to be a child.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 22, 2018

Essential to the film's success is the authenticity of the two young girls. Both are amazing naturals, most of the time behaving as if they are totally unaware that there is a camera present.

| Original Score: 3.5/5 | Jun 14, 2018

It's a film entirely lacking in pomp, but there's a certain bravado in its delicate reservation. A tender and spare meditation on family unfurls in the stillness of a sleepy, sun-soaked Spanish summer.

| Original Score: 4/5 | Jun 14, 2018

In this semi-autobiographical period piece, Simón achieves the rare feat of faithfully recreating the mysterious consciousness of a child.

| Original Score: 3/4 | Jun 6, 2018

Artigas and Robles are utterly spellbinding for the entirety of Summer 1993's runtime. Their pure joy feels improvised, captured in the moment by Simón's camera.

| Original Score: 8/10 | May 29, 2018

Some creatures are able to grow new limbs. Frida, given more than half a chance after demanding it, achieves something no less remarkable. She grows new joy and hope.

| May 25, 2018

The result is a kind of grief procedural, its focus sharpened by the lush greens of the Catalan landscape.

| May 24, 2018

Ultimately, this is a memorable look at our desire to love and feel safe, to connect and belong - and the unexpected ways in which families can reshape and grow.

| May 24, 2018

Movingly understated and beautifully acted.

| May 24, 2018

Rather than adopt an excuse to turn this hardship material into easy sentiment, Simón treats this very personal matter with a focused, unhurried wisdom for the ways even a left-turn girlhood can still be a celebration of being young, alive, and open.

| May 23, 2018