Director David Lean declared he’d put more of himself into 1955 picture Summertime, the cinematic love letter to Venice he filmed and edited entirely on technicolour film, than into any other film he’d ever made – high praise indeed coming from the director who produced epics like Lawrence of Arabia and the iconic Brief Encounter. A glorious Katharine Hepburn leads the cast as fancy secretary Jane Hudson from Akron Ohio, an older, single protagonist who has saved up for the trip of a lifetime. She’s looking for adventure rather than love, but finds both when she collides with Renato Di Rossi (played by Rossano Brazzi). Travelling alone is not always easy, however, and even in beautiful, sun-drenched Venice, Jane discovers that it is still possible to feel deeply and painfully alone. With this in mind, Lean manages to artfully explore the delicate fragility of travelling solo; the immense freedom, but also the pitfalls of being by oneself in unfamiliar territory. Lone travellers take note.