Random Passage

Like all movies ,with the exception of "Angela's Ashes", the book is always more accurate and details are more thorough than the film. The problem a lot of the time is the dialects in some of these films. Fanny for example was played by native Sarah Power who should have known better and researched the bayman dialect which she didn't do for lack of talent. An uptown St. John's dialect cannot be compared to the dialects of Bonavista Bay. Had they taken veterans like Amy House and Ross Goldsworthy the film might of had a chance although Coln Meaney was quite wonderful in the role of Thomas Hutchings. I noticed many in this historical piece struggled with their roles when they spoke but that is to be expected when time outweighs research. To capture an era is wonderful but if the dialects are off course it becomes nothing more than a movie about Newfoundland. Like you all I thought it was a great film but some of the casting was unforgivable. What would an Englishman know about casting Newfoundland based characters? Nothing at all apparently and it is so very noticeable. As one lady from Newfoundland so perfectly coined it..." Youse don't sound like way!"

We bought the DVD and watched this show after visiting the Random Passage film site in Trinity Bay, Newfoundland (worth a visit btw).

This show is a bit slower-paced than today's shows, being 20 years old, but that really fits for the theme of life in an isolated outport.

The show gets better and more intense as it goes on. The main characters: Thomas, Mary, Lavinia and Ned are all superbly acted.

I really can't think of another show I've seen where I became so involved in the fate of the characters. You really feel their vicissitudes and their triumphs in a way that is unusually strong. This series is under-rated and deserves more attention.

I can't believe that some of the people who commented here did not enjoy this series. The novels that this series was based upon were written by a Newfoundlander who did tonnes of research on the subject and made sure everything was as accurate as possible. This series depicts Newfoundlanders fighting to survive and clinging to a new world they called home. It shows the hardships these people endured and how proud and brave and strong these early Newfoundlanders were. It makes me proud to see these things and to be reminded that my ancestors worked so hard to make a home out of and the beautiful but unforgiving and relentless island where I was raised and long to return to.

This mini series was the story of two novels in one. Random Passage was a story that revolved primarily around Levinia, and the Novel Waiting for time revolved around Mary Bundle. When Des Walsh wrote the screenplay he combined the two using Mary as the primary character.

I believe it accurately depicts life in Newfoundland back in the early 19th century. It is only in the last 50-60 years, that us Newfoundlanders have been able to kick against those that hold us down and start living for ourselves. It has been a difficult struggle, and still is in many circles given the stereotypes that still exist. This movie is a prime example of this. The Merchants ruled those around. The fisherman had no other way of making a living. The merchants dictated the price of the fish and often robbed the fisherman.

The coast of Newfoundland is rugged and unforgiving to those not prepared. Until the last 50 years or so, most coastal communities were isolated and to live, you lived off the land and the sea. You adapted or you died.

So I believe this movie is an accurate picture of how rough it was to survive, and Mary Bundle learned to adapt, without giving up her own sense of freedom (if I can use that word) to survive.

I give it 7 of 10

This is an incredibly good movie series. The characters are complex, gutsy, well defined and you fall in love with them, warts and all. It is almost like watching your own family members deal with tragedy after tragedy. It is about the grim realities of life in Canada in a fishing village perhaps 200 years ago. Death stalks in many ways. I have great admiration for my ancestors to have made it through times like this. I know I never could.

I would have given the movie my first 10 were in not some glaring anachronisms where for some idiotic reason there are a few scenes with a female actor in modern makeup complete with pencilled eyebrows.

You would think a movie about salting fish would be boring as all get out, but I can't think of a movie that drew me in more so that it felt like it was part of my own life. It is a heart wrenching combination of the achingly beautiful and utterly unbearable. It is not in the least predicable or boring. It feels like real life.

"When boys first go to bed, They step into their voluntary graves, Sleep binds them fast; only their breath Makes them not dead: Successive nights, like rolling waves, Convey them quickly, who are bound for death." ~ George Herbert, Mortification