"[2] In the opening scenes, Romanian authorities are shown to be frantically engaged in shutting down a brothel, whose presence they believe would embarrass local high society at a time when a grand ball is set to take place.
During the latter scene, John Simon notes, Land Forces officers are shown staring up "in mixed horror and admiration at the familiar globe whose owner they promptly identify.
[3][4][5][6] Initially shocked by the cultural clash, Von Debretsy, a mother of three, attempts to adapt her aristocratic lifestyle to the new requirements, but manages to make herself stand out when she continues to seek a life of luxury.
[4] While Petre Dumitriu is motivated by his pursuit of discipline, his wife preserves her sophistication, reading the works of Marcel Proust, playing the harpsichord, employing a nanny to educate her children, and comparing the surrounding landscape with Japan's Mount Fuji.
The captain feels dishonored when an angry General Tchilibia draws a comparison between Von Debretsy and the prostitute Erzsi and stresses that, as Hungarians, both women are natural suspects in Romania.
It is also connected with the end of Communist Yugoslavia and the onset of the Yugoslav wars: Lucian Pintilie once stated that he had been inspired by this outcome when filming on location,[4] and continued to refer to it in later interviews.
[6] According to Jäckel, An Unforgettable Summer has a prophetic role to play within the Balkan context, one she equates with that of Jean-Luc Godard's La Chinoise, which is credited by others with having offered a glimpse into the French revolutionary environment that was to be responsible for the May 1968 events.
"[4] Concluding that Pintilie's message also displays criticism of "liberal incomprehension" for Balkan realities,[13] she argues that the Western world's intervention during situations of crisis, "after first denying and then ignoring the existence of evil", bears resemblance to what Von Debretsy is attempting.
[10] Caryn James argues that, through its references to the Hungarian Soviet Republic and its impact in Romania, the film can serve as a guide to the start of communism, just as Balanța is a depiction of its outcome.
[8] Through the means of dialogues in the film, the viewer is informed that communism has had an actual impact on Marie-Thérèse: her father allowed the Hungarian revolutionaries to split up his estate, but, for all his generosity, was killed by them.
[12] Lucian Pintilie himself notes that Dumitriu's book, authored during the internationalist stage of communism, and before nationalism made a comeback with the rule of Nicolae Ceaușescu, is valid as a critique of interwar realities.
"[9] Pintilie indicates that his interest was in showing the violent intrusion of an "oppressive mass" of Romanians into a world peopled by Bulgarian peasants, describing the latter as "natural cultivators of that land, with a special genius for vegetables—innocent ones, without any political or national consciousness."
He noted that, before World War II's Operation Barbarossa, when Nazi German troops began rounding up and executing members of various communities, the region did not experience "racial tension".
"[5] Although available only on limited release in many parts of the Western world,[7] Lucian Pintilie's production has attracted significant interest abroad, and was granted a special reception at the Telluride Film Festival.
[5] John Simon describes the film as "witty, harrowing, wonderful",[3] and, in one of his comparative essays on cinema traditions, lists it among the most notable European works of 1994 (alongside Yves Angelo's Colonel Chabert and Nanni Moretti's Caro diario).
[12] Berardinelli draws a parallel between An Unforgettable Summer and Before the Rain, by Macedonian director Milcho Manchevski, noting that, for all the difference in setting and approach, they deal with similar subjects.
[15] Tronaru praises both Bleonț and Scott Thomas for their performance,[9] while Berardinelli objects to their seeming aloofness, arguing that a connection between the audience and the actors in the main roles could prove "tenuous".
[7] In contrast with the latter commentator, Variety notes: "The actress gives a properly flighty dimension to the loving wife and mom whose flair for putting a joyous spin on things is forever impaired by the looming atrocity she feels powerless to halt.
"[8] Variety also commends Răzvan Vasilescu for his performance in the role of Colonel Turtureanu, "an opportunistic soldier who has no compunctions about anything the military life may require", and comments favorably on the soundtrack composed by Anton Șuteu and on Paul Bortnovschi's production design.
"[3] Simon also discusses the cinematography, arguing that Călin Ghibu's use of lighting manages to convey the "almost unearthly beauty at sunset", which helps viewers understand why Scott Thompson's character uses Mount Fuji as her preferred metaphor for the place.
"[8] The overall positive reception offered by the critics did not materialize in significant box-office success or international awards: An Unforgettable Summer unsuccessfully completed for the Palme d'Or during the 1994 Cannes Film Festival.
"[9] Tronaru also notes that the film's high standard of quality was a peak in Pintilie's career, and that it was no longer reached by the director until 2001, when he released După-amiaza unui torționar.