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''Five Days One Summer'' is a 1982 American romantic
drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...
directed and produced by
Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...
from a screenplay by Michael Austin, based on the 1929 short story ''Maiden, Maiden'' by
Kay Boyle Kay Boyle (February 19, 1902 – December 27, 1992) was an American novelist, short story writer, educator, and political activist. She was a Guggenheim Fellow and O. Henry Award winner. Early years The granddaughter of a publisher, Boyle was ...
. Set primarily in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
, the story focuses on Douglas Meredith ( Sean Connery) and his lover Kate ( Betsy Brantley) as they embark on a mountain climbing trip, which unravels their relationship due to Kate's feelings for their mountain guide (
Lambert Wilson Lambert Wilson (born 3 August 1958) is a French actor, singer and activist. He is best known internationally for his portrayal of The Merovingian in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and ''The Matrix Resurrections''. Biograph ...
) as well as a dark secret that looms over the couple. ''Five Days One Summer'' served as Zinnermann's final film before his death. The film was a commercial and critical failure.


Plot

In 1932, Douglas Meredith, a middle-aged Scottish doctor, is on a mountain climbing trip in the
Alps The Alps () ; german: Alpen ; it, Alpi ; rm, Alps ; sl, Alpe . are the highest and most extensive mountain range system that lies entirely in Europe, stretching approximately across seven Alpine countries (from west to east): France, Swi ...
with a young woman, Kate, whom he introduces as his wife. Despite being side-eyed by their hotel's guests and staff due to their large age difference, Douglas and Kate are deeply in love, with their romance in full display. They are introduced to Johann Biari, a native of the area who becomes their mountain guide. Flashbacks reveal that Kate is actually Douglas' niece and they are in a secret
incest Incest ( ) is human sexual activity between family members or close relatives. This typically includes sexual activity between people in consanguinity (blood relations), and sometimes those related by affinity (marriage or stepfamily), adopti ...
uous relationship. Kate had been in love with her uncle since she was a little girl, and was despondent when he had to leave to set up his practice in India when she was just a child. Years later, the adult Kate works at her family-owned shipbuilding factory which she stands to inherit from her late father, Douglas' brother, alongside Douglas. As the family reunites to discuss matters about the factory, Kate happily reunites with her uncle, who had returned from India, but she is dismayed when she meets Douglas' new wife, Sarah. Douglas and Kate rekindle their close relationship, with Kate pursuing her uncle and Douglas admiring his niece's beauty now that she has grown up. When Sarah and Kate's mother leave for a trip to the market, the two succumb to their feelings for each other and begin a romantic and sexual affair. Douglas plans for both of them to have a vacation to the Alps in the guise of family bonding so that they could pursue their relationship without their family noticing, despite Sarah's suspicions of the two. As the couple elopes in the Alps, Kate and Douglas are happy to finally be in a place where they could be open as lovers. Johann leads Douglas and Kate around the mountains. As they return, they see a crowd of people unraveling a frozen-in-time dead body. It turns out to be the body of Johann's grand-uncle; he never returned from a trip the day before his wedding, with his bride now an elderly woman. Johann and Kate are compassionate about the reunited lovers, but Douglas is nonchalant about it. Douglas and Kate begin having cracks in their idyllic relationship as Douglas begins pursuing more self-centered interests, while Johann and Kate begin having unspoken feelings for each other, which Douglas begins to notice. Eventually, Kate admits to Johann that she is not Douglas' wife and he is already married to someone else, though she does not disclose that they are also relatives. Johann attempts to plead with Kate that her relationship with Douglas is doomed. Kate begins to have fits of sadness and arguments with Douglas after realizing that their relationship cannot be made public even if Douglas leaves Sarah due to the taboo nature of their affair. Later, Douglas requests Johann to guide him through a potentially dangerous climb to the top of the Maiden mountain. As the two traverse the route, Kate, disillusioned by her uncle's true personality and realizing that her relationship with him will not work out, writes a letter to Douglas on her intentions to leave him. Atop the Maiden, Johann confronts Douglas about being a married man and for using Kate, while Douglas defends himself in saying he is serious about his relationship with her. They put aside their differences as they head down the mountain, but they are caught in a cliffside rock fall. Johann is killed in the fall while Douglas survives. He returns to the town and shares the news to a heartbroken Kate while Johann's body is retrieved. As Douglas joins Johann's funeral, Kate decides to leave ahead and shares one last embrace with Douglas before she leaves.


Cast

* Sean Connery as Douglas Meredith * Betsy Brantley as Kate Meredith *
Lambert Wilson Lambert Wilson (born 3 August 1958) is a French actor, singer and activist. He is best known internationally for his portrayal of The Merovingian in ''The Matrix Reloaded'', ''The Matrix Revolutions'' and ''The Matrix Resurrections''. Biograph ...
as Johann Biari * Jennifer Hilary as Sarah Meredith *
Isabel Dean Isabel Dean (born Isabel Hodgkinson, 29 May 1918 – 27 July 1997) was an English stage, film and television actress. Life and career Born in Aldridge, Staffordshire, Dean studied painting at Birmingham Art School. In 1937, she joined the Che ...
as Kate's Mother *
Gérard Buhr Gérard Buhr (8 May 19288 January 1988) was a French film and television actor. Selected filmography * ' (1950) * ''Quai de Grenelle'' (1950) - Petit rôle (uncredited) * '' Beware of Blondes'' (1950) - Un journaliste (uncredited) * ''Monte Car ...
as Brendel *
Anna Massey Anna Raymond Massey (11 August 19373 July 2011) was an English actress. She won a BAFTA Award for the role of Edith Hope in the 1986 TV adaptation of Anita Brookner's novel ''Hotel du Lac'', a role that one of her co-stars, Julia McKenzie, h ...
as Jennifer Pierce *
Sheila Reid Sheila Reid (born 21 December 1937) is a Scottish actress, known for playing Madge Harvey in the ITV sitcom ''Benidorm'' (2007–2016). An original member of the Royal National Theatre in 1963, she played Bianca in the National's 1965 film ve ...
as Gillian Pierce


Reception

''Five Days One Summer'' received negative reviews from critics and was a
box-office bomb A box-office bomb, or box-office disaster, is a film that is unprofitable or considered highly unsuccessful during its theatrical run. Although any film for which the production, marketing, and distribution costs combined exceed the revenue after ...
. It was the final film directed by
Fred Zinnemann Alfred ''Fred'' Zinnemann (April 29, 1907 – March 14, 1997) was an Austrian Empire-born American film director. He won four Academy Awards for directing and producing films in various genres, including thrillers, westerns, film noir and pla ...
. He later remarked that "I'm not saying it was a good picture, but there was a degree of viciousness in the reviews. The pleasure some people took in tearing down the film really hurt."


References


External links

* * * * * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Five Days One Summer 1982 films 1982 romantic drama films American romantic drama films Incest in film Films scored by Elmer Bernstein Films directed by Fred Zinnemann Films set in 1932 Films set in the Alps Films set in Switzerland Mountaineering films Warner Bros. films The Ladd Company films 1980s English-language films 1980s American films