(500) Days of Summer

Jemand anderes hat es geschrieben ... dadurch wird es nicht weniger wahr. Ein wunderschöner, netter, poetischer und äußerst lebhaft gedrehter Film, in welchem die Romantik zu streicheln und ins Blut zu beißen vermag ... genau wie im Leben. Vielleicht könnte lediglich der Schluss ein wenig ...eben weniger im Märchenstil gestimmt sein. Aber eigentlich ist der Film (500) Days of Summer ein Märchen, jedoch das nimmt Webbs Film die so niedlich banale Gültigkeit nicht weg. Die ist wahrscheinlich die größte Überraschung des vergangenen Jahres, sofern es um den amerikanischen Mainstream geht. (24.01.2010)

A portrayal of what a very good summer feels like: it warms you up, entertains you, but before you know it, it's over and all that's left is the everyday grey. But those memories, nobody can take them away from you. (07.11.2009)

This is not a love story.. Maybe not, but romantics will still adore this tale. Marc Webb had to simply recreate so many natural feelings and moods from life, so accurately, that I definitely won't be the only one who sees themselves in Tom. With each passing year, the turmoil becomes more relevant. (20.01.2010)

I'll admit, I rarely watch romantic movies anymore because, in that stereotypical whirlpool, there are only very few titles worth watching. The vast majority of those genre pieces are made as if following a template and differ only slightly in doses of naivety and, when it comes to teenage matters, even in the level of tastelessness. (500) Days of Summer really stands out from this flood because it has honest craftsmanship and a few decent ideas as well as pleasant casting. But from my perspective, it's by no means a cult film. It was allegedly a huge hit at the Sundance Festival, but any major studio could have easily financed this Webb film. In fact, it is purely a mainstream affair. If stars were given for the best mainstream romance of the year, (500) Days of Summer would probably win hands down, but that's not how it works for me. It differs from the usual productions mainly by the fact that the screenwriter admitted that not every romantic love ends in marriage, but if they want to sell me these discoveries, they should turn to someone else with such banalities. After two days, I can only remember very little from the film. It's pleasant enough for one viewing, but nothing more. Overall impression: 60%. (30.12.2014)

A nostalgic ride into the past, when all this stuff still meant something. Marc Webb turns the tables skillfully and doesn't forget to add the bad to the good. Joseph Gordon-Levitt is excellent as the idealistic young man who one will day become a dad who will watch 500 Days of Summer on TV because Disney+ told him he might be interested. (31.07.2023)

A fresh and new approach to the material with excellent casting. The two main virtues of this interestingly presented and positive comedy, where the wave of seriousness and sometimes bitterly cynical undertones resonate perfectly with the archetypal premise of all romantic films, are love and everything around it. Webb got it right, it's from life, and while it seems mature and adult at times, it's actually a teen issue in every way. (29.08.2016)

Ich weiß nicht. Für eine Komödie war es nicht witzig genug. Außerdem soll (500) Days of Summer angeblich anders als andere romantische Filme sein. Er sah ihnen aber verdächtig ähnlich… Ich musste mich sehr anstrengen, nicht einzuschlafen. Natürlich war der Film nett. Zumindest einmal wird sich in der Handlung wahrscheinlich jeder wiedererkannt haben. Ich bin aber nicht der Meinung, dass es sich um ein Werk handelt, das irgendwie "anders“ ist. Auch die Sprünge in der Handlung, die am Anfang einfallsreich aussehen, fand ich irgendwie überflüssig – wodurch haben sie die Geschichte von Tom und Summer bereichert? Waren es zufälligerweise nicht nur gewöhnliche Flashbacks, die nach Tagen nummeriert waren? Ich weiß, ich stichele zu sehr. Um aber nicht nur zu meckern: Die beiden Hauptfiguren waren wirklich sympathisch (der ständig lächelnde Joseph Gordon-Levitt ist mir am Anfang ein bisschen auf die Nerven gegangen, ich konnte mich an ihn aber gewöhnen). Die Tanzszene (Han Solo?!), die Figur der "kleinen“ weisen Schwester und die Momente wie aus Die fabelhafte Welt der Amélie (die witzige Vorstellung der Helden; schade, dass es so etwas nur am Anfang gab) haben mir auch gefallen. Außerdem hat der Film einen angenehmen Soundtrack. Das ist aber auch schon alles. (21.01.2012)

You can feel the tremendous energy from the start, it's charmingly imaginative, very sensitive, and very "communicative". What's also interesting is the kind of haze of mystery and uncertainty you'll want to share with Joseph. I almost didn't even breathe during the expectations/reality scene, because it was so evocatively delivered, thanks to Marc Webb's skill and sensitivity, it had quite an archetypal effect on me (and of course, purely personal memories came up for the occasion). I also liked very much how balanced it was in terms of content (or information) – on the one hand, it thoroughly demonstrates the positivity and pleasant things that come out of falling in love (the dancing, going to work scene was without flaw in this respect) and on the other hand, the subsequent huge inner mess is depicted fittingly, perhaps at times a bit violently. The seemingly unformulaic treatment also added some points to the result, so at this point I'm not afraid to include (500) Days of Summer among what I consider high-quality and tasteful among romantic films. (24.09.2012)