Simply one of the best American films of the 1990s and one of the greatest examples of American naturalism, there can be few greater examples of a director's genuine fondness for his characters.
With an ensemble cast that has rarely been equaled, you don't need to be from Texas to be reminded of your high school days and of the excitement and pressures of bein' young. The dozen or so main characters are augmented by dozens more we see only in glimpses - the annoyed girl left mid-kiss, the easy-going washed up convenience clerk, the clumsy girl who laughs at herself after a face-forward fall. Linklater has populated a world with easy-going profundity and a warmth that matches the summer of '76 portrayed.
With an ensemble cast that has rarely been equaled, you don't need to be from Texas to be reminded of your high school days and of the excitement and pressures of bein' young. The dozen or so main characters are augmented by dozens more we see only in glimpses - the annoyed girl left mid-kiss, the easy-going washed up convenience clerk, the clumsy girl who laughs at herself after a face-forward fall. Linklater has populated a world with easy-going profundity and a warmth that matches the summer of '76 portrayed.