The film is about the bond of love between a brother and sister, and depicts their escape to Toronto from a small Ontario town and a broken family. Steve is the first to leave to start a new life in Toronto, but he soon hears that his sister Jenny has also came to Toronto and is living in less than desirable conditions.
The cast of characters includes Kathy, Steve's new girlfriend; Albert, a bookie who becomes Steve's guide to the new life he's trying to build for himself; and Elaine, a bisexual artist who has had sex with both Steve and Jennie.
After discovering that Jenny has followed him to the city, he begins searching for her. In the end, they finally come face to face, only to discover their relationship as siblings is irreparable.
J. Paul Costabile of Cinema Canada wrote "to an extent, the inconsistencies of the plot are mitigated by some uniformly excellent performances; the director has shown that he can draw sensitive and compelling performances from actors and deal with controversial material without sensationalism; but, it must be admitted, this film's scaffold-like plotting is a distinct handicap."[1]
Pearl Rowell opined in The Gazette that "a film is supposed to be either educational or entertaining, it is not to encourage and sell every kind of degenerated behavior; it's hard to believe the graphic display of two men urinating brought any new light on the subject."[2]
Film critic Geoff Pevere stated "a film purported to be a 'sensitive and tasteful treatment' of an incestuous brother/sister relationship, Summer's Children fails miserably; cheaply made and carelessly constructed; there is little in this squalid production; most of the shots, while quite attractive when taken separately, have no continuity whatsoever, and are confusing and irritating to follow; the script is incredibly pretentious and the two young leads are obviously uncomfortable in front of a camera, something usually avoided in the hands of a confident filmmaker."[3]
The film won an award for Best First Feature at the Texas International Film Festival.[5] It received only limited theatrical distribution in Canada, and was instead seen primarily as a television film on CBC Television.[6]
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