PLANET SICK-BOY: http://www.sick-boy.com
A two-hour period film based on an old novel set in England about a forbidden love affair between a reserved girl who doesn't like to talk and a man who can't speak her language. Yawn!
OK, it's not really THAT bad. Swept From The Sea is the latest Joseph Conrad novel adapted to the silver screen. The results can range from sublime (Apocalypse Now/Heart Of Darkness) to mundane (last year's The Secret Agent) and Swept slumps somewhere between the two.
The story begins in the Ukraine, where a tiny village is celebrating because one of its sons, Yanko Gooral (Vincent Perez), is going to take a trip on the big boat to find his dream in America. Things proceed as planned until the ship sinks off the shore of Colebrook, England. This seemed intense before I saw Titanic.
In a pretty cool scene, the citizens of Colebrook wake to find dozens of bloated bodies washed up onto its shore. They assume that there are no survivors and seem to quick forget about the incident after they bury the lot. Call me crazy, but I'd be pretty emotionally scarred after seeing the likes of that.
Yanko, of course, is the only person to live and he stumbles upon the Smith family house, where Amy Foster (Rachel Weisz) works on occasion as a servant. Now Amy, who is named after Conrad's novel, is very introverted and shows no emotion. This is probably due to her parents treating her like she had the Bubonic plague. Her only enjoyment in life is to sit in her secret little cave and watch the water break on the shore.
The two hit it off right away, but the townsfolk are quite literally frightened of this dirty longhair that speaks in crazy tongues. Amy sneaks Yanko food and water while he is locked up in the Smith's barn, even though the locals deem him dangerously unapproachable. It isn't until Dr. Kennedy (Sir Ian McKellan) discovers that Yanko isn't actually spouting nonsense, but actually speaking another language. The villagers are still suspicious.
The rest is all pretty standard fare, but is beautifully shot by Dick Pope, who photographs most of Mike Leigh's films. The rolling green hills and jagged cliffs that overlook the ocean are breathtaking. I believe it was filmed in Cornwall, England. Director Beeban Kidron can add this film to her previous mediocre effort To Wong Foo, Thanks For Everything, Julie Newmar.
The acting is pretty good…for a guy that can't speak English and an emotionless girl. Perez (The Crow: City Of Angels) cleans up well in his rags-to-nicer rags part, while Weisz is nearly mesmerizing in a quiet, unassuming way. Think a shorter, less dumb-looking Liv Tyler. And now she can be known for something besides naked girl by the pool in Stealing Beauty or running girl in Chain Reaction. Both leads needed breakout roles, but these probably are not them. The supporting roles, however, are handled quite well.
For the most part, a recommendation of any movie with a male character named `Yanko' is probably a long shot.
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