The physical and emotional bumps and scrapes of childhood come rushing back from memory like a warm August breeze in "Summercamp!,” the latest slice-of-life documentary from Oklahoma-bred filmmaker Bradley Beesley.
Beesley and co-director Sarah Price ("American Movie”) follow 90 children through the deep green woods of northern Wisconsin to Swift Nature Camp to record the real-life comedy and drama that people ages 6-15 play out beyond the influence of parents, school and everyday friends (not to mention computers, television and iPods), as they face the prospect of growing up and savor their first taste of independence.
Beesley follows the boys' adventures — and misadventures — focusing especially on the arc of overweight Cameron, an unhappy camper whose antisocial antics constantly put him at odds with counselors while rendering him unpopular among his peers and an object of ridicule, which gradually pushes him close to the edge.
Bespectacled Spencer, the self-described "accidental” son of a free-spirited mother and a long-absent, drug-abusing father, offers startlingly articulate wisdom and insight on life and the adults who dominate it — when he doesn't have his nose buried in a Tom Clancy novel.
Meanwhile, Price trains her camera on the girls' side, paying particular attention to witty and nimble-minded Boo, who delights in a wealth of friends and confidants, happy to be distanced from the loneliness of home.
And finally there's loner Holly, always carrying pocketfuls of small stuffed animals and obsessing over distressed "chickadees” that aren't really there, while her sad and soulful eyes reveal the lingering shock of a family tragedy.
All the rituals are included as well, from campfire sing-alongs and canoeing safaris to messy craftwork sessions and "Meatballs”-style frivolity, along with the pains of homesickness and fishhook wounds, the upheaval of melodramatic arguments and the bittersweet wonders of first love.
Anyone who remembers that time of innocence can relate to this sensitive, funny, contemplative and heartbreaking portrait of kids being kids, enhanced by brilliant, sunset-filled photography, the sound of a million crickets and lazy-day, carefree music from The Flaming Lips and Noisola. The sweet nostalgia is irresistible.
— Gene Triplett
