That Summer of White Roses

I discovered this film in the mid 1990's, and was so impressed I bought my own copy on video. I would call this a film-buff's film. The performances of Tom Conti and Susan George are exceptional - I believe this to be Conti's best work since 'The Glittering Prizes' - and the locations are stunning, evoking the gentle and simple life of the riverside resort before the Germans turned up.

The characters played by George and Conti are thrown together in a marriage of convenience, as she and her son are hiding from the German invaders. The best scenes are when Conti and George share the screen, and this mysterious woman begins to develop respect, even affection, for the simple man who has been nominated to protect her.

Sensitively directed, the story is told in brief vignettes which help to convey the easy lifestyle of the characters who live at and near the resort. In essence, this is the story of Anrija's (Conti)true coming-of-age, when he's thrust into an adult situation he would never have had the chance to experience had the war not happened in his particular neck-of-the-woods. An all-round superb piece of film-making.