SUMMER WAR (Tribeca 2026) – Review by Valerie Kalfrin
A board game champion sinks deeper into his obsession while on vacation at a Chilean seaside resort in Summer War, director Alicia Scherson’s second adaptation of a book by Chilean author Roberto Bolaño.
Set early in 1989, with the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet losing steam, Summer War focuses on Udo Berger (Dan Bierne, Ready or Not 2: Here I Come), a German American fixated on a tabletop strategy war game called The Third Reich. Bolaño used the game as the title for his book El Tercer Reich, published posthumously in 2010.
Debuting at the 2026 Tribeca Film Festival, Summer War has the laid-back feel of a summer vacation at first, with warm cinematography from Alejo Maglio and deliberate pacing. Unfortunately, Udo is a less-than-compelling protagonist, one of those insufferable American tourists myopic about his own behavior and the politics of the nation he’s visiting. While that might have been Bolaño’s point, it doesn’t make for a riveting watch.
Udo and his girlfriend, Ingrid (Lux Pascal, The Beauty), stay at the same resort where Udo and his family vacationed when he was a teen. The only thing he’s more enamored with than the strategy game is the kind yet enigmatic hotel owner, Mrs. Elsa (Aline Kuppenheim, The House of the Spirits), at least until he discovers that El Quemado (David Gaete, La Perra), a scarred beach bum who rents paddleboards and other gear, is a quick study and apt opponent.
While Ingrid strikes up a friendship with an Argentinean couple, Charley (Agustín Pardella, Society of the Snow) and Lola (Malena Sánchez, The Boss), Udo berates the staff over not having a square table for his “work,” writing about the game for an American magazine. After a night of dancing with Ingrid and the Argentineans, he feigns being hung over so he can lay out his game pieces and jot down more moves, phoning a friend in the States with updates.
The plot takes a turn when Charley beats Lola in front of Ingrid and Udo, then later disappears while at the four are at the beach, presumably drowned in the Pacific. Udo, who couldn’t fathom why Lola didn’t want to call the police about the beating, feels obligated to send Ingrid home without him while he waits for news about Charley. The locals wonder why he’s sticking around. Doesn’t he have a job and a girlfriend back home?
Summer War develops a more claustrophobic feel as Udo remains in Chile, clearly overstaying his welcome and his finances. Scherson (Invisible Heroes), who previously adapted Bolaño’s novel Una novelita lumpen into the 2013 film The Future, intercuts Udo’s vacation with stock footage of World War II bombs and fighter planes, as if the game is constantly on his mind.
The gaming aspect, which mirrors Udo’s flirtations toward Elsa, might have played better on the page. As he and El Quemado meet nightly to play—with Udo leading the German forces against the Allies—the hotel staff wonder if he’s gone mad. Udo has the enthusiasm of war spoken by a guy who’s never seen it, but El Quemado likely has, and a local who knows that suggests Udo end the game at a draw.
Summer War might be a faithful adaptation of its source material, but it generates little dramatic momentum over an hour and 44 minutes, especially in the latter half. Udo possibly plays with fire, but he’s too obtuse to generate any heat.
