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SUMMER IN THE CITY
Dirs. Christian Blackwood and Robert Leacock, 1970.
Germany. 89 min.
In German and English with English subtitles.

SUMMER IN THE CITY is a stunning document of Christian Blackwood’s sensibilities as a cinematographer and a rich portrait of Manhattan at the precipice of its most notoriously troubled decade. It focuses on everyday New Yorkers caught in a moment between fading hope, trust, and promise and looming confusion, outrage, and desperation. The film is composed in vérité style but does not purport to be a fly on the wall as its subjects scowl, question, and laugh at the cameraman, who is always in motion. The narration, written and read by Uwe Johnson, is at times lyrical and others abrasive. Johnson hides behind his words no less than Christian behind the camera, working out his feelings about New York and its inhabitants and leaving us each moved, delighted, conflicted, and provoked.

The project originated from the German writer, who lived on the Upper West Side in the 1960s:
“In 1968 German Television agreed to coproduce a film with us in which Uwe Johnson would, on-camera, introduce and question the various characters with whom he exchanges news and opinions on his wanderings on the Upper West Side. We proposed to him that he participate in the documentary. Being essentially introverted he was not interested in the on-camera concept, but was willing to make a list of places and situations that he felt should be included in the film. Christian Blackwood took charge of the project. Johnson wrote the narration once the film was edited. It was broadcast in Germany at the time.”

Content warning: Extensive portrayal of heroin use