Hot off of winning the Sundance Film Festival’s top prize in the U.S. dramatic competition, the slice-of-life family drama “In the Summers” marks the filmmaking debut for director and screenwriter Alessandra Lacorazza. The story is loosely based on Lacorazza’s own childhood summer visits to her father in Columbia. That’s an admirable basis for a movie, even if the movie itself doesn’t pack nearly the same emotional punch for us as it does for her.

“In the Summers” is the kind of quiet humanist work that I often find myself drawn to. But there’s several things missing here. Lacorazza’s approach is distinctly unhurried and relies heavily on the audience to pluck details out of the mostly plotless story. But beyond those details there is little to glean. And while there’s no denying the movie has a beating heart, it takes a long time to go a short distance while saying very little along the way.

The film has in intriguing structure. It follows two sisters, Eva and Violeta who live with their mother in California. Their story is broken up into four chapters set during four summer visits to see their father in Las Cruces, New Mexico. Each chapter is set at different stages in their lives and begins with the girls waiting for their father Vicente (played throughout by René Pérez Joglar aka Residente) to pick them up at the small town airport.

The first visit sees the sisters as children – Eva played by Luciana Quinonez and Violeta by Dreya Renae Castillo. Vicente picks them up and drives them to his nice adobe style home that he inherited from his late mother. There’s clearly some hesitation at first, especially from Violeta, but things go well. The trio go swimming, he teaches them to play pool, they visit an amusement park, they even do some stargazing. With Vicente we do see signs of recklessness and a short temper. He also drinks too much. But altogether the three have a good time.

The next visit is during their teen years and much has changed with them and their father. Eva (now played by Allison Salinas) is hungry for her father’s affection but is routinely rebuffed due to his favoritism towards Violeta (Kimaya Thais Limón). “She looks like her mother,” Vicente says of Eva, perhaps giving us a little insight into his otherwise out-of-the-blue lack of interest in her. And despite his doting, we see the tension building between Vicente and Violeta that finally boils over.

I won’t say much more other than the film loses its identity in the haphazard final chapter. Now barely into their twenties, Eva (Sasha Calle) and Violeta (Lio Mehiel) still pay their father a visit. But Lacorazza veers away from the more intimate father-daughters dynamic and more towards Eva and Violeta’s individual angles. Eva’s story is the most compelling although it’s hindered by a terrible lack of detail. Violeta’s feels like it belongs in another movie altogether.

Without question “In the Summers” has its touching moments and the unique structure opens the door for an equally unique exploration. Even better, the film features an eye-opening performance from Puerto Rican rapper Residente. But the final chapter really brings the movie down, needlessly splintering the story and exposing holes that otherwise would have gone unnoticed. It’s a frustrating and unfortunate finish to a film that starts on such a strong note.