with Summer 1993, her accomplished debut feature, Carla Simon succeeds in creating a rich, vivid world from her own turbulent pre-adolescence, though the film does meander in a way that makes its deeply personal nature unmistakable
what makes Simon's debut stand out as one of the most memorable in recent years: an effortless ability to capture what it is like to deal with a tragedy of the kind its young heroine undergoes
a thoughtful and moving family portrait; It thus delivers few dramatic surprises, but its real skill is in delivering these effects in such a true and captivating manner
