I liked this film a lot more than I thought I was going to. It’s a sort of bizarre, meandering tale about Paul and Maria, a middle-aged married couple on a road trip through Spain with their daughter and a young friend in tow. The exact nature of the couple’s relationship with this “young friend” (Claire, played by Romy Schneider) is never divulged. She may or may not be having an affair with Paul, and this may or may not be sanctioned by Maria, who spends nearly all her waking hours in an alcohol-induced haze. Due to a large storm, the party is forced to stop for the night at an overcrowded hotel in a small town. The town is abuzz about a murderer on the lam- a man who killed his cheating wife and her lover. When Maria encounters the fugitive hiding out on the roof of the hotel, that’s when things get really weird.

I went into this expecting a so-so 60’s film, and instead found an overlooked gem. With the exception of the girl who plays the couple’s daughter (who is one of the most obnoxious, terrible, zero-talent child actors I’ve ever seen), the performances here are all top notch- particularly from Melina Mercouri, who plays the alcoholic Maria. Romy Schneider is her usual effervescent self, and it’s easy to understand why Paul might fall for her. The film is gorgeously shot and impossibly modern looking- with the exception of a couple instances of what would now be considered anachronistic hair and clothing styles, it looks as though it were shot yesterday. It’s precisely this kind of timelessness than can elevate a a film from being merely “good” to “great.” 10:30pm Summer is currently streaming on Netflix- watch it before it it’s gone.