'The Taste of Summer' Captures The Tender & Magical Nostalgia Of A Homecoming

We tend to think of life as a sequence of significant events — graduations, marriages, achievements, farewells, births, and deaths — each treated as a chapter heading in our story of the self. But it is the countless small, in-between moments that truly define the essence of our being: the way morning light falls across a kitchen table; the sound of familiar footsteps approaching from far away; the call of a familiar street vendor; the passing glance with a stranger on a bus that lingers for no reason. These moments, fleeting and easily forgotten, are the threads that weave the tapestry of our lives.

Kolkata-based filmmaker Sambit Dattachaudhuri's slice-of-life short film, 'The Taste of Summer', unfolds in these interstices. As a nor'wester storm descends upon a hot summer afternoon, a young woman's return to her hometown conjures up memories of what she's been missing. We watch her make a homely meal of chicken curry and rice and talk to a friend over phone about the ennui of her life at work and a nostalgia for her childhood summers spent eating mangoes off the bough. She feeds her dogs, dries her hair, and dreams of gathering mangoes from the tree in her backyard.

While there isn't a specific word for this yearning, it brings to mind the Czech concept of 'lítost', which the exiled Czech novelist Milan Kundera described as a torment stemming from suddenly recognizing one's own misery. It's not merely sadness or regret; it's the painful realization that something irreversible has occurred. Similarly, the French word 'nostalgie' also captures this deeper sense of longing, encompassing not just a desire to return to a place or time, but the profound melancholy of knowing you cannot.

What makes these feelings so powerful is the possibility of remaking them. You can remix an old song, rework a classic silhouette, and relive the cherished memories of your childhood summers. Dattachaudhuri captures this desire to return and remake perfectly in 'The Taste of Summer'. As the protagonist (played by Tanika Basu in a measured performance) lies in her bed and bites into the ripe, golden yellow flesh of a mango in her dream, the viewers, too, dream of returning to their childhood summers with her.

Watch the trailer for 'The Taste of Summer' here:

The Taste of Summer was screened at the New Generations Independent Indian Film Festival in Frankfurt in September, 2024 and at TENT Biennale in Calcutta in December, 2024. It is currently streaming on-demand here.

Follow Sambit Dattachaudhuri here.

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