The Summer With Carmen Review: Queer, Sexy, Fun!

The Summer with Carmen is a fun film exploring friendship and breakups and the hero’s journey while also being a meta-commentary on queer filmmaking.

Demosthenes (Yorgos Tsiantoulas) and his best friend Nikitas (Andreas Labropoulos) are spending the day at the beach, enjoying the sun and discussing the screenplay for the movie that they want to write together. Nikitas intends to create a film that he can star in, since he can’t seem to get a role as a straight character. The two friends consider reworking a stage show they had created called Sissies but ultimately decide that they should do something that follows a more traditional three-act form. Nikitas wants to write a script about Demosthenes’s relationship and breakup with his boyfriend, Panos (Nikolaos Mihas), from a few summers earlier. 

As much as The Summer of Carmen is about the story of this breakup and the way that Demosthenes deals with that, it is also a meta-commentary on creating a low-budget queer film while breaking so many of the conventions. Nikitas is constantly looking for a story that is queer, fun, and sexy but can’t cross over into “porny” immediately following a graphic sex scene. They discuss keeping the cast small and then follow that with a huge scene with many extras. They talk about limiting where you shoot to only a few locations and then travel all over Greece. The humor is found less in the dialogue and more often in the ways that the characters contradict the rules they have set in place.

At times, however, this running joke can get in the way of the much more moving story at the heart of The Summer of Carmen. Demosthenes is frustrated by his relationship with Panos and is quick to remind everyone that he’s the one who broke it off, but it is clear that he is not over it. When Panos is considering getting rid of his dog Carmen, Demosthenes offers to take her, if only so he has another reason to see Panos again, while at the same time complaining about how Panos is so needy. Demosthenes is involved with Thymios (Vasilis Tsigristaris), but even that seems to be just a way to goad Panos.

The performances are solid. The friendship between Demosthenes and Nikitas feels very authentic, which is absolutely a testament to the acting by Tsiantoulas and Labropoulos, particularly when they are on the beach reminiscing about the summer of the breakup. However, I’m not certain if the flashbacks are supposed to be a glimpse of their movie or actual flashbacks, because they feel a bit more stiff than the conversation on the beach. 

This is the biggest weakness of The Summer of Carmen. Mavroeidis and co-writer Fondas Chalatsis create a story within a story, and sometimes, the style seems more important than the substance. This isn’t to say that there’s nothing worthwhile here, only that there are moments when the conceit takes center stage over the story. It works well when it is played for comedy but sometimes stumbles in the transitions. 

Still, there is a lot to enjoy about this film. The examination of the fluid nature of relationships is well done, and the question of what change means for a hero, both in the context of the film and in the real world, is a poignant one. And if you’re just looking to appreciate the male form, The Summer of Carmen has got you covered.

The Summer With Carmen will be released in selected UK cinemas on February 28, 2025.