Summer of My German Soldier (1978) by director Michael Tuchner, from the book by Bette Greene, is the poignant coming-of-age story of a young girl desperately looking for love and acceptance in a world that offers her none, only to find it in the least expected of places.
Patricia "Patty" Bergen (Kristy McNichol) is a young Jewish girl growing up in a small southern town during World War II. Patty is alone, with only one real friend, her family's housekeeper Ruth (Esther Rolle). Being the only Jewish family in town not only leaves Patty isolated from other townspeople but she is also ignored in her own home as well. Her father (Michael Constantine) is a cruel, pitiless man who has no love for Patty. His affections are given freely to Patty's little sister Sharon (Robyn Lively) but he has none left for his oldest daughter. Patty's mother (Barbara Barrie) is an indifferent woman with little time for an awkward adolescent daughter. One day while working in her father's store Patty meets Anton Reiker (Bruce Davison), a German prisoner of war that is interned in a camp not too far from town, they immediately take a liking to one another. Anton manages to escape from the camp and is discovered by Patty who hides him in a secret place. There they become good friends, and from friendship, love. For the first time in her life Patty has a true friend that believes in her and listens to her, they share their thoughts and feelings and genuinely care for one another. For the first time in her life Patty really knows what it is to be happy, but it is a happiness that cannot last. The F.B.I. has come into town to search for the escaped prisoner and inevitably they will get their man.
This moving and memorable film was based on the youth novel by Bette Greene. While it is not completely true to the original story it does manage to convey the novel's main aspects about this innocent girl who is utterly alone in the world, desperately in need of someone to care for her, to love her, and to love. Director Michael Tuchner does an excellent job here managing the production and controlling its direction, above all he is smart enough to let his actors work freely, not over managing them as many directors often try to do. The solid core of supporting actors are all wonderful, Esther Rolle was nominated and won an Emmy® in the category of Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Limited Series or a Special for this role and she really earned it, it was a strong and very deserving performance. All of the other supporting players should have been at least nominated for an award (which they were not) as their performances were as equally deserving. Bruce Davison as well as Barbara Barrie's both do extraordinary work here that greatly adds to the tone of the story. But the most deserving of the supporting players would have to be Michael Constantine in what has to be one of the best performances of his long and remarkable career. It would have been quite easy to just write off Constantine's character as just the "bad guy" and leave it at that, but you can't. Constantine breathes real life into his character, giving him a coldness and loathing for his own daughter that many actors wouldn't have been able to pull off, but somehow, amazingly he does. At the same time he also lets you realize that his brutal behavior might actually have very real reasons behind it, reasons that give his character true dimension. Kristy has the starring role in this film and she delivers what has to be one of the finest performances in her entire acting career, if not the finest. It is hard to believe that this amazing young talent had only been acting a few short years when she took the lead in this production. Her performance here dominates the picture, she is able to bring a subtle yet powerful presence to the role and to impart in it a quiet suffering and loneliness that you, as the audience, can almost feel yourself; I doubt that any other teen actress of the time could have made this part any more believable or unforgettable, yes, this is the performance of a lifetime. Summer of My German Soldier is without any doubt one of Kristy's finest efforts as well as a highlight for everyone involved in this tender and touching story of love lost.
Buying note: This film was available on full screen VHS tape many years ago but has been out of print for some time now and can be very difficult to find. Occasionally though copies can still be found for sale on the internet. This film can also be found through other sources as well, but be advised the picture quality on many of these tapes and DVD-R's are marginal at best.
12-31-2007
