Just Films & That is a podcast that celebrates underrated and underseen films. In this episode, we take a look at The Kings of Summer - which was suggested to us by the creators of Kindling (2023) when they joined us for an episode. So, is this a little hidden gem of an indie film? You can listen to all full episodes of Just Films & That now, wherever you get your podcasts.
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Short filmTranscript
00:00 What could you be showing me in the woods right now?
00:03 This is the site of our new house, man.
00:04 What, like a tree house?
00:06 No, like a real house.
00:08 No parents, no one telling us what to do.
00:10 We make the rules.
00:12 So "Kings of Summer" from 2013,
00:14 and for those who haven't seen it at home,
00:16 it's essentially a story of three teenage boys
00:18 who've grown a little bit sort of disillusioned
00:19 and frustrated by their parents,
00:21 as teenage boys tend to do,
00:22 and they decide to leave their families behind
00:24 and go and build a house in the woods to live off the land.
00:27 This was picked by one of our guests,
00:29 or two, I guess, should I say,
00:30 Conor O'Hara and Jamie Gamache,
00:32 who are the director and producer, respectively,
00:34 of a British film called "Kindling."
00:36 Firstly, they think it's underrated and underseen,
00:39 but also because it had a lot of thematic similarities
00:41 with their own film, "Kindling."
00:43 So over on IMDb at the time of recording,
00:45 it gets a 7.1, and then on Rotten Tomatoes,
00:49 the critics give it 76%,
00:51 and then the audience give it 77%.
00:54 Financially, well, its budget was about $1.5 million.
00:58 It only made $1.4 million,
01:00 so I certainly think there's an argument to be made
01:02 that it is underseen,
01:03 and I would reckon that it is a little bit underrated as well.
01:06 I really enjoy this film.
01:08 There's so much that I like about it,
01:10 from the performances to the script
01:11 to the character development,
01:13 but the main thing I want to talk about
01:15 is the atmosphere that this film creates
01:17 through use of color, light, sound, the visuals.
01:21 It creates such a nostalgic atmosphere.
01:24 I want to be those kids building the house in the forest.
01:27 It really does make you long for those simpler times
01:30 and those simpler days,
01:31 and in that way, it's a real great piece
01:33 of escapism cinema,
01:35 and you usually associate escapism
01:36 with big, flashy special effects and superhero storylines,
01:40 but this is a much simpler version of escapism,
01:43 and it's done so effectively.
01:44 - I don't think I liked it as much as you,
01:46 but that doesn't mean I didn't like it,
01:47 'cause I did think there was plenty in there to be fond of.
01:51 Some great performances.
01:52 I liked the script as well.
01:53 I thought it was really naturalistic
01:54 in terms of its style.
01:55 Lots of good little character developments in there.
01:57 Quite a lot of humor as well.
01:59 What about dislikes, then?
02:00 Was there anything you didn't like about it?
02:03 - Well, the only thing for me, really,
02:04 is that one of the younger characters
02:05 is wearing a leg cast the whole time,
02:08 insinuating that he's broken his foot
02:09 or sprained his ankle or something or other,
02:11 but he's always climbing trees and climbing up rocks
02:14 and jumping up rivers and running through fields,
02:16 so I didn't really understand the purpose of the leg cast.
02:19 I don't really know why he had it,
02:20 so it just seemed a bit odd,
02:22 and it just left me with a lot of questions,
02:24 and I found it a little bit distracting.
02:25 - I'd have liked a little bit more background
02:27 into the characters,
02:28 particularly the main character, Joe,
02:30 played by Nick Robinson.
02:31 What you have is, because that's underdeveloped,
02:33 you don't really see why he's taken such a drastic step,
02:36 so it makes him a little bit unlikable
02:38 and also doesn't make some of his motivations very clear.
02:40 So, overall, then, what do you think?
02:43 Is it underrated and underseen?
02:45 Is it one or the other?
02:47 - I agree with our guests in this instance.
02:49 I do think that "The Kings of Summer"
02:50 is underrated and underseen.
02:52 What about you?
02:53 - Mainly underseen.
02:53 I think more people should see it.
02:54 It's a really well-made little sort of indie film.
02:56 It's probably about appropriately rated for me,
02:58 but since I've been outvoted by you and Connor and Jamie,
03:00 I'll give you that one, underrated and underseen.
03:03 [BLANK_AUDIO]