Chile, 1989. Udo, an American wargaming champion, arrives at a sunny beach resort for a peaceful vacation with his girlfriend. When another tourist mysteriously disappears at sea, Udo decides not to search for his missing friend but to instead invite a mysterious local to play his wargame of choice — a tabletop game where players simulate the European theater of World War II. It’s a choice that begins to erode the boundary between game and reality, transforming the sunny beach into something far more dangerous — a reflection of Udo's own obsession with strategy and control, and his inability to conceive of violence as anything other than imaginary and theoretical.

Summer War is a tremendous, inventive adaptation of acclaimed author Roberto Bolaño's novel “The Third Reich.” Writer-director Alicia Scherson’s second time working with material from Bolaño, the film beautifully captures both the playfulness and angry exasperation of the source material. Handsomely shot, pitched at a tone that is entirely its own and featuring standout performances from Dan Berine, Lux Pascal and David Gaete among others, Summer War is a delightfully unpredictable film with palpable thematic resonance.—Jason Gutierrez