StyleSk8r At first rather annoying in its heavy emphasis on reenactments, this movie ultimately proves fascinating, simply because the complicated, highly dramatic tale it tells still almost defies belief.

InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.

Humaira Grant It’s not bad or unwatchable but despite the amplitude of the spectacle, the end result is underwhelming.

Phillipa Strong acting helps the film overcome an uncertain premise and create characters that hold our attention absolutely.

whimsea611 I avoided watching this film....the summary on my cable station didn't entice me....sounded trite. However, tonight it happened to get my attention. The cable description was way off. (What a surprise.) It is a lovely, bittersweet story. One of the comments mentioned that it portrayed male communication and the commenter mentioned that women might find it to be frustrating, but educational. I come from an 'all girls' family with a father who is horrible at communicating emotion...especially affection. I found these guys to be very loving and supportive of one another despite their lack of talking about everything. Yet, they were sensitive, masculine beings....just the type of guy you can love. I liked the film and will catch it again.

tralee71-1 /Can anyone tell me why the film was given this title? All or most of the story took place in warm months. The winter solstice is the shortest day of the year./I mostly enjoyed this movie and its acting, and was charmed during most of the movie by the director's use of silence. Much of the emotion came just from the actors' expressions, glances, restraint. But after 80 minutes or so of restraint, I wished to God someone, anyone, would open his/her yap and speak true feelings, as well as some revealing dialog. /I can appreciate slice-of-life movies that lack a neatly tied bow at the end, but this one felt truncated to me. I wanted to know much more than we were told. Where was the setting of the film? Where was Allison Janney's "real" home?/Are there really entire families that substitute "hey" for all other forms of greeting, such as hello, hi, how are you, good morning?

radudca I think everyone should see this movie, it is an example of a inexperienced director who dangerously gambled on a script he authored, without consideration for the character differences in personalities and how these differences reflect their emotions. The minimalist direction throughout provided no pacing, no emotional highlights to carry this film along and provide us--the viewer-- with a needed satisfaction that all good movies deliver. There is an excellent story here and it was not developed to the fullest.What contribution Sundance provided besides financial, we the viewer will probably never know. They could have stepped in and provided excellent development ideas. The beginning 10 to 20 scenes could have given us insight into the mother who was the heart and soul of these men's lives. It never happened and the first part of this film suffered because of it. The cinematography was excellent but used mid range scenes almost exclusively, thereby avoiding closeups of the actors and the needed emotional development you can achieve with the more intimate closeup techniques. What contribution to the development of this film Anthony La Paglia provided as the executive producer and experienced actor remains a mystery. A great rewrite of the screenplay in the beginning scenes could have provided a needed lift and more dollars at the box office. I realize the minimalist aficionados will love this film, that is their privilege and no one will change their minds. Still this is a film that could have been a classic.

madjc7 What happens when a spouse dies? There are no tender flashbacks in this film showing the husband and wife in their marital bliss before the wife dies. This film is about what happens afterward. Even five years later, the reverberations are being felt by the husband and his two young adult sons.Keep your expectations realistic, and this film delivers. In a key scene, a high school history teacher asks the class, "Why did the Mongols turn back when they were poised to roll up Europe like a carpet?" Pete, the younger son, seems to know, but doesn't care to answer. The teacher offers to let him out of class (a makeup summer class) if he can answer.Pete finally takes the bait: "Their leader died and they didn't know what to do." There you have it. Does the filmmaker do any more to explain what troubles this family? Yes, but you have to put the pieces together yourself. He doesn't make it hard; he just doesn't grind it up and put it in a baby food jar.The film builds to some very touching scenes that explore the impact of loss on the three remaining family members. If you're interested in exploring how real people deal with the real issue of loss, you'll find something here.The ending comes before you want it to, sure. There are no easy answers offered by the conclusion, but that's the way life is.