Summer of '42 is one of those rare films yon can't help liking simply for its aspirations which are so honest and open-minded.

Thanks to director Robert Mulligan and a largely unfamiliar cast it turns cut to be a delightful film.

Summer of '42 has a large amount of charm and tenderness; it also has little dramatic economy and much eye-exhausting photography which translates to forced and artificial emphasis on a strungout story.

People who actually recall 1942 will more greatly appreciate the waves of nostalgia that bathe this affectionate coming-of-age drama, set on a tiny island off New England.