Celeste in the Summer is the kind of visually striking short that feels like stepping into the kind of dream you don’t want to wake up from. Writer-director Hobby Holmes does a tremendous job of pulling you into the story with its visuals and mixing sci-fi with a cottagecore setting, all sprinkled with a touch of longing. It’s a pretty weird combination, and one that works because of, not despite, the directorial choices.
Focus on the visuals (and the vibe) is essential, as the short isn’t heavy on dialogue. But when everything else clicks, words aren’t needed. This is a story we understand, a message that hits, even when we don’t know what’s being said.
The message at the center of Celeste in the Summer, which only really solidifies at the end of the short, is about not just love, but what love means—and to what point you can control it and shape it. These are big subjects, and to tackle them in such a short time-frame requires not just precise writing and directing but also very deliberate acting. This has all of those in spades.
Alice McMillan and Freddy Carter are two halves of a beautiful romance, and also a complicated question in Celeste in the Summer, and that we get both from them at different times is a testament to how well the short is constructed, and how much these actors manage to emote. Their easy chemistry is palpable in every second they share the screen, which is basically most frames of this short.
Often telling a story with just two characters is one of the hardest undertakings there is. That Celeste in the Summer is unequivocal in its message and the emotion it evokes without any long monologues or big moments feels like both a revelation and a gift. I would love to stay in the first five minutes of this short forever, and yet I, like them, understand that reality isn’t always what we want.
The film also relies on its score to send a message that tugs at your heartstrings, transmitting at times tenderness, at times confusion, and at others tension just as effectively as the actors do.
It should come as no surprise that this film isn’t entirely what it seems, and yet to reveal what makes this film not just a summer romance, but a haunting exploration of where love and memory collide would be robbing you of a chance to experience the emotional gut punch yourself. Perhaps telling you to expect something is already too much, but the film never tries to hide that things are not what they seem, so I feel pretty safe in saying that this mystery isn’t what makes Celeste in the Summer work.
Or at least, it’s not the only thing that makes it work. It might, however, be the thing that leaves you thinking about the possibilities of this world long after its short runtime is over.
Celeste in the Summer screened at the Hollyshorts Film Festival.
