A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer’s Eve

The Boston Baltic Film Festival screens the Latvian classic as a fundraising event later this week. 

Depending on who you ask, A Limousine the Colour of Midsummer’s Eve might be the all-time Latvian classic. The National Film Centre of Latvia calls it “arguably the most beloved Latvian movie of all time,” and Latvians on Letterboxd regularly log the film while saying things like, “In Latvia, it’s permitted to shoot people who don’t like this kino.” That’s a joke, of course, but it also highlights the emic importance of the film. 

Aunt Mirta (Lilita Bērziņa) is old and probably dying when she wins a state lottery for the new Zhiguli model, a rare and highly sought-after automobile commodity in the Soviet Union. Long lost and distant relatives come out of nowhere upon hearing the news to cozy up to the old woman as she prepares her final will and testament. Her nephew Ēriks (Uldis Dumpis), his wife Dagnija (Olga Dreģe), and their son Uģis (Gundars Āboliņš) cancel a fancy vacation in the Carpathian Mountains to spend time with Mirta in the agrarian countryside. Later, a woman shows up whom Mirta doesn’t quite recognize. It’s her former daughter-in-law Olita (Baiba Indriksone) and her family: husband Viktors (Boļeslavs Ružs) and daughter Lāsma (Diāna Zande). The families are (un)healthy mixes of deadbeat losers, lousy lovers, and just plain mean people. None of them deserves the kind final gesture of Mirta and this becomes even clearer as we spend more time with them.

The classic by director Janis Streics takes place around the Latvian summer solstice festival of Jāņi, a holiday that comes with loaded memories for Mirta of her departed husband. 

Continue reading at the Boston Hassle.