'The Seasons --- four love stories' - slow moving but worth the wait.

Mike and Katya 

'The Seasons --- four love stories' - slow moving but worth the wait.

There is a charm in "The Seasons --- four love stories" but it's a slow burn to get to it. The story is easy enough to embrace. We all have been there. The "there" is navigating a complicated love life. 

For this group of lovers, of which there are four sets, the characters are intertwined as they face those important turning points in their romantic lives. It's clever of the screenwriter to have each chapter take place in a different season since weather, in a way, informs behavior.  The summer story focus on young adult problems with the need for space being pivotal. The fall highlights a middle-aged couple and winter, the elderly, and Spring, a ten-year-old girl. 

At 82 minutes, the film moves swiftly and under Paul Schwartz's direction, who also wrote the screenplay, you do want to hang in there and find out what happens which is always a very good sign. 

In the directors' statement, Schwartz confesses that stories that link together thematically, by sharing characters, or by unfolding linearly over a period of time have always interested him. 

The last story is the most charming, with the young girl experiencing her first heartbreak absorbing advice from a much older woman. The perspective of love, it seems, is the same despite the age. A broken heart hurts and one day, it will heal. That’s the lesson the gentlewoman explained to the wide-eyed girl. 

And like the promise of healing, this film does deliver a charming end to a “charming” film. 

The film has done well in the film festival route scooping up several awards including Winner, Best Comedy, 8 & HalFilm Award - September. 8 And HalFilm Awards (2022); Winner, Best Dramatic Feature, Care Award. Care Awards (2022); Winner, Best Drama, October Award. Cooper Awards (2022); Winner, Best Actress: 45:01 - 120 minutes, Best Feature Film: 60:01 to 120 minutes. Couch Film Festival (2022); Winner, Best Supporting Actor, Best Supporting Actress, Best Narrative Feature, Best Director, Best Ensemble, Best Actress. Crown Point International Film Festival (2022); Winner, Feature Film, Silver Award. Florence Film Awards (2022); Winner, Feature Film, Honorable Mention. Hollywood Gold Awards (2022); Winner, Best feature film, Best Writer, Best Director. LA Live Film Award (2022); Winner, Best Romance, Festival Award. Las Vegas International Film & Screenplay Festival (2022); Winner, Best Feature, Annual Award. Logcinema Theatre on Film (2022); Winner, Best Feature, October Award. Luis Bunuel Memorial Awards (2022); Winner, Best Feature Film, Diamond Award. Mindfield Film Festival Albuquerque (2022); Winner, Best Feature Film, September Award. New York Movie Awards (2022); Winner, Best Comedy Feature Film, October Award. Onyko Films Awards (2022); Winner, Best Picture, Best Director. Stanley Film Award (2022), and Winner, Best Narrative Feature, Best Director: Award of Prestige. Vegas Movie Awards (2022).

Paul Schwartz is a director, screenwriter, producer, and composer.