Summer Love

The nameless Stranger rides into a dusty town with The Wanted Man in tow. He has come to collect his reward, but his unexpected arrival triggers tension among the locals and The Stranger gets embroiled in a violent love triangle between The Woman, a barmaid, and the drunken, lovelorn Sheriff. Soon all hell breaks loose as The Stranger finds himself a fugitive, hunted by a giant posse led by the vengeful Sheriff.Filmed on location in southern Poland with a Polish cast (save for a cameo appearance by Val Kilmer), Summer Love is the first Polish western. First-time director Piotr Uklanski toys with the stereotypes and clichés of the genre, creating a surreal version of the classic western. According to Uklanski the film is “neither a parody, nor homage” but an allegory using the language of a western to address issues of ethnic identity and cultural authenticity. A violent and fast paced tale of love, pain, redemption and death told with a dry sense of humor and a deft eye for skewering movie conventions.PER PERSTRAND