Warm Summer Rain (1989) Poster

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5/10
artsy erotic journey
SnoopyStyle11 September 2017
Depressed Kate (Kelly Lynch) fails in her suicide attempt. She is brought into the hospital. After some visitors, she walks off wearing only her hospital gown and an overcoat. She takes a random bus and gets off in the middle of the desert. She finds a kitty and then finds a bar. It's a meandering drunken sexual journey. She wakes up next to the well-dressed stranger (Barry Tubb).

If you like Kelly Lynch drunk, troubled, and naked, this movie is for you. That is what you get and there is plenty of it. It's an erotic romance that leans more towards the art-house side. I'm not in love with this couple but I don't hate them either. It's an artsy erotic dysfunctional journey. Her bandaged wrists are the most striking part. Suddenly, there's a baby. Of course, they're naked a lot. This is one weird movie.
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4/10
Unimaginative cross between an Edward Albee play and soft-core porn.
maeander7 August 2005
More play than film, "Warm Summer Rain", is an obtuse character study of two troubled people who manage to spend a great deal of time naked, having sex. There are moments that are more akin to an acting class exercise than a real motion picture. Too much of the time we see the actors acting.

This film is very derivative. It borrows from many sources including "Last Tango In Paris", "The Terminator", "The Chase", the works of Eugene O'Neill and William Saroyan.

Although you can applaud the courage of Kelly Lynch and Barry Tubb, there is very little to admire here in a dramatic way. As a rental, I would barely recommend it.
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6/10
Reality bites
srhite25 March 2006
Something about this movie has always haunted me. Kelly Lynch is suicidal for one reason and that is that she has to deal with the realit of her life. The other guy just can't face reality. It isn't about sex, it's about despair and dealing with one's life. Each character is running from his own reality. It's something most of us deal with every single day of our lives.

It isn't a film for the masses, or maybe that is what all the nudity and sex was for! There were a couple memorable lines. One was something about Kelly Lynch explaining that she is only a secretary. The other was when Kelly Lynch is told that the crime was stealing a car and not murder.
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Precursor to American Beauty...
BrianCDavis8 November 1999
I disagree that this movie is strictly a gratuitous sex film. I think it has a lot in common with American Beauty, in that it addresses how we choose to live our lives. In this case, they choose to have sex a lot, but that is not the point. The point is to deny the typical societal roles, and to live life however you want. The film has a lot of funny scenes, good dialogue, and a lot of David Lynch-style bizarre characters. Next to American Beauty, it is one of my favorite films. It is definitely a low-budget, intellectual, art-film, but worth watching if you enjoy intelligent filmmaking with a bit of humor.
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1/10
Many rivers to cross, but I can't seem to find a decent film.
bombersflyup2 December 2021
Warning: Spoilers
Warm Summer Rain is a load of drivel.

Sure Kelly Lynch's nice, but jeez. Weird for the sake of it, with woeful acting, writing, direction, the whole "shebang"... :)
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7/10
A Delightful, Surrealistic Film
trgusa9 June 2005
Warm Summer Rain brings to us feelings we have all experienced... isolation, hopelessness, bewilderment, doubt... and opens a vein of self-examination that asks basically... why? Why me, why life, why love?

In seeking meaning and purpose in the midst of social disparity, the couple exploits a temporary pseudo-marriage relationship that allows them intensity. If the dialogue, the feelings, and the interactions sometimes seem awkward, it is in keeping with the ages of the characters...

Coming to us in the middle of what some called the ME generation, this film addresses those issues along with post-sixties sexuality and frankness. This has long been one of my favorite Art films and each time I see it I find new symbolism.

I swear I have been in several bars identical to the one at the beginning of the movie, and their abandoned house was where I began my own married life. When Kelly Lynch mentions the longing she wakes up with each morning, I know just what she means.

So here we have a damsel in distress, a Don Quixote sent to rescue her, some amazing sets, props, characters, and dialogue, and all the elements of a great myth... the conflict, the descent of the hero into the underworld, and the redemption. What else could we hope for?

A dance with a five-legged Iguana, that's what.

Don't miss this humorous, delightful, thought-provoking movie.

* Films similar to this one: Local Hero, The Swimmer (Burt Lancaster), Where the Heart Is (Natalie Portman), Amalie, Harold & Maude.
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7/10
Doesn't deserve neglect
rsoonsa11 April 2000
Although given short shrift by the few critics who watched it, this is a worthy effort, marked by good acting, direction, technicals, and an intelligent script. Although in a state of undress through much of the film, Kelly Lynch is given an opportunity to display the full panoply of her acting range as there are essentially only two actors. And, as so often with independent films, all involved have an opportunity to be truly creative. The desert setting enhanced the starkness of the extreme emotions to which the viewer is exposed.
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10/10
not to miss cult film
pshelton17 December 2000
This film is absolutely the best. It takes a woman that has almost committed suicide and a man coming from nowhere and going to nowhere, to meet in a bar in the middle of the desert, and strip their lives bare. Both have been living with illusions in the plastic world created in this country and in a few days find each other in a way most people do not reach in a lifetime...with a perfect ending.

There is much nudity and honest (some call foul) language.
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7/10
More than I expected
skay_baltimore23 February 2013
Warning: Spoilers
The basic theme/synopsis of this movie interested me so I decided to watch it, but other than that I had low expectations based, unfortunately, on the low 4.5 IMDb score it received. I was pleasantly surprised. The movie pushed me throughout to try to understand what was going on. But unlike other films that never actually come together or deliver a punch, this film ties everything together in an interesting, unique way. The acting was engaging and the chemistry between the two leads was believable. The film is genuinely quirky without it being forced like some films that seem to be quirky just for the sake of being quirky and/or "arthousy". There was just enough suspense, intrigue, humor, and sensuality/sexuality to drive this film from beginning to end. I can't say that this film is for everyone, but I can say that I thoroughly enjoyed it, and will probably watch it again -- something I don't usually say after watching most films.
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A hidden Gem(check the drama section at the bottom of the shelf in a mom and pops vid shop)
cs198213 September 2001
About a year and a half ago, I was browsing my favorite video stores drama section(ya know the kinds of stores who carry all low budget titles on their catalog listings), and I came across this film. I liked the description and it reminded me alot of Last Tango In Paris, so I tucked it under my arm with my other releases brought it home and watched the other three films first. It was around 2 am and I put this in....the first 5 minutes drew me in hook line and sinker: there is no sound just pleaseing mood music as a shroud of quick cuts display a beautiful woman lying in a pool of blood with images of her past playing out before the viewer...no smart perceptive dialogue, no state of panic...just beautiful images. The film then begins and it could all go downhill from here...but it does'nt..this woman is fully aware of the constant daily grind of life and the annoying people that inhabit it...so she gets up in her hospital gown, witnesses a dying old woman and then leaves town...no destination, no cause. What progresses then is basically alot of sex and insightful, yet not overly cocky insights into life, love, death, and isolation between a dim witted drifter whom she meets in an almost ghost town.

The astonishing thing about this film is that it is perfectly aware of its characters problems, yet it doesnt bore us with the details....they meet, they do the most logical thing and have sex constantly in an abondoned house...they state their cuases...and then try to conform somewhat to the outside world by the films great ending. I love this person. She wants to be alone and she wants to be isolated. Combined with stunning imagery and camera work...even if u mute the sound..u still feel the isolation and quiet moodiness of the film..compared to Last Tango..this film is much better.Tango is loud it is repellent unsenseibly..this film is bright, evocative and mildly entertaining...it shouldnt be entertaining however.

If only more films like this could be made....better yet..no..this is a one of a kind...maybe only meant for the people who find it wipe the dust off of it and give it a try. I watch it every once in a while...when the wind is blowing and im alone.
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10/10
Beautiful, Touching and Funny!
gaborforro15 January 2007
This is very unconventional film, yet so easy to watch. It has some universal meaning and contains a lot of hidden points. The beautiful bodies exposed ate just the top of the iceberg. There are some pretty funny moments throughout the film, these situations made me (and the 4 people with me) laugh to tears. For the first time I see such a combination of very serious drama, surrealistic mystery, comedy and thriller at the same time. There is no much action, it is more subtle, but not boring at any point. I usually get bored easily, but this was not the case here, although some may find the movie a little disoriented. Definitely a must-watch!
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a truely ethereal movie
triple813 November 2003
rented this awhile ago-very ethereal movie, atmospheric, movie is dreamlike all through. If you appreciate these types of movies you will like this-even the title has that dreamlike feel.I'd have to see it again to give it a rating, but remember it as atmospheric, different and disturbing. A good movie for summery rainy day.
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Different and Interesting - you might like it as well.
nz man5 June 2000
If you are a film buff, and do not mind a different style of film, this is worthwhile. It does not leave you with such a great feeling, but overall it is done very well. Psychological, even philosophical; thought-provoking.

Sometimes it is refreshing to see a film venture away from the usual 'Hollywood formula'.
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Erotic Lynch-esquire Film
groanboxcoma14 October 2006
This dreamy movie, I feel is so uncredited and unnoticed or not given enough credit. It may not be appreciated by many people because there are so many existing films similar to it (e.g. Wild at Heart). But, don't let that get in your way. I found this very similar to such films as 'Blue Velvet', 'Wild at Heart', 'Mulholland Drive', 'Lost Highway' and it strangely is reminiscent of 'Requiem for a Dream'. It's essentially an intense, beautiful, erotic love story. The moods' it creates are very carnal, passionate, melancholy, desperate and dream-like/surreal. I can definitely see the similarities to 'Monster's Ball'. All in all, it's a good but very overlooked film. For fans of depressing love stories and Lynch films, this will be very appealing.
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Ken saves Barbie
sgoldgaber22 January 2003
Barbie is sad. Ken is sad. Together they are happy, and Ken

teaches Barbie to love life.

The pretentious script, constantly sounding like it's imparting

pop-psychology wisdom is made doubly silly when it comes out in

monologues from such incompetent actors, who can't even be

convincing in the less-demanding, non-verbal, gratuitous sex

scenes.

Insipid, sappy, and shallow, Warm Summer Rain can't hold a

candle to Ordinary People, to which it had been favorably

compared. The themes are also completely different, with the

exception of the theme of suicide.

Avoid at all costs. 2/10
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Excellent Film. I just watched it today for the first time.
bek756724 August 2010
I agree that it has artistic qualities similar to a David Lynch film, especially in regard to the visuals; however, this is a different kind of film, altogether.

David's films are ingenious for (among other things) psychological twists/abstraction that builds to meaning in the end, while this film has a different kind of artistic sensibility; the poetic nature of the dialogue really appealed to me personally as a poet myself, and the final sequence of the movie comes across as a damn good poem, as well as the sequence near the middle of the film where Kelly Lynch is discussing her reasons for the suicide attempt, ie "and I just let the rose inside myself spill out." Gorgeous writing, imo.

In short, David's movies communicate meaning in large part through the symbolism of their imagery, and while this film has its share of symbolism through the images, its driving force was primarily the poetic attributes of the dialogue, imo. Very nicely done, I enjoyed it. Where has this Joe Gayton guy been? I was very impressed.

ps American Beauty is a great film; a classic.
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