PRINCESS CARABOO
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1994 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Phoebe Cates stars in a fact-based
tale told with an almost storybook style. A mysterious
Pacific island Princess who shows up wandering in 1817
England. She soon becomes the subject of fame and
controversy. Michael Austin creates a light comedy-
drama that is more about a 19th Century England with a
thirst for exotic land. Kevin Kline's role may have
been pasted into the script, but it is the best in the
film. The film is a little on the fluffy side. Rating:
+1 (-4 to +4).
1817 in England was during a time of great awakening in England. The recently ended Napoleonic Wars had brought an awareness that there was a lot of world beyond the shores of Britain. Coleridge and Byron wrote about exotic lands and the aristocracy hungered to know more of faraway lands with poetic names. And in the midst of this craze for the foreign and exotic, Princess Caraboo shows up wandering in a field near an English village. The turbanned Caraboo speaks an unknown language, writes in totally unknown pictograms, and has seems to have fashion tastes molded on some Pacific Island or someplace in Asia. She is adopted by the affluent Mrs. Worrall (Wendy Hughes) and her less charitable husband (Jim Broadbent). Little by little the Princess's story comes out of how she was kidnapped by pirates and managed to escape from them off the coast of England. But nobody is sure if the story is true or a fraud.
Michael Austin's film is not so much about the title character but about the phenomenon and controversy that surrounded her appearance. The mysterious woman's fame soon spreads across England. Some believe her to be a Javanese princess, others believe her just a woman with a vivid imagination. But many of the experts who first doubt her are confounded by the evidence that she is the genuine article.
Phoebe Cates is the Princess who acts like Asian royalty, but Cates herself just does not look Asian enough to be convincing. In an interview at the Montreal Film Festival Michael Austin said that he first cast Phoebe Cates and since her husband Kevin Costner [sic] came along to tend their baby, the director gave him a part in the film also. Actually Kevin Kline really grabs the attention of the audience as Frixos, the Greek dandy who is the Worrall's insolent butler. As an early and overly candid sceptic of Caraboo his role is a comic gem. What was probably a minor or even non-existent role expanded just for his talents becomes the most engaging characterization in the film. Wendy Hughes is a good actress, but this film does not give sufficient depth to her character. Perhaps it was pushed aside by the Kline role, but she is a little too sweet and understanding, a bit too good to be true. Jim Broadbent has more to do as Mr. Worrall who married into the aristocracy without any touch of nobility. Stephen Rea is Gutch, who narrates the story. As a newspaperman Gutch is romantically attracted to Caraboo but also feels a responsibility to investigate the truth of her story. John Lithgow rounds out the cast as a linguistic expert won over in multiple ways by the princess.
A film with Freddie Francis's camerawork will always be worth seeing. His work goes back at least to THE INNOCENTS and his feel for creating a period atmosphere in films like THE FRENCH LIEUTENANT'S WOMAN is always excellent. Under Austin's direction his images here have more of a storybook feel than usual. But we do get a look at village life from the fancy manors to the town square with its ale houses and gibbets. The score by Richard Hartley often has majestic moments but is not memorable on first hearing.
The film is a light enjoyable look at an England that rarely is shown in historical films. It is short at 96 minutes, but also sweet. I give it a +1 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
mark.leeper@att.com
.
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