Les pêcheurs de coquillages

"The Shellseekers" has it all! Aging protagonist played by Redgrave tells the story of the daughter of an artist who lives to find herself late in life with 3 children, two of which are mainly greedy brats. The third however brings a young girl in need of care to her mother and we learn the story of the past through their relationship.

It's slower paced, Masterpiece Theater style retelling, so it won't be everyone's cup of tea. Watch it for the scenery if nothing else. I enjoyed it for its gentleness and warm themes.

This film has a split personality. The scenes, which depict 1982, are so poor that I'm amazed that they didn't end up on the cutting room floor. Vanessa Redgrave gave her usual performance of Vanessa Redgrave. After watching this film I'm even more convinced than ever that if her family hadn't had been in the theater she would have never got a part in anything, and that includes her local am/dram productions. She swans around as if she's smoked a lot of cannabis in the 60's and she still hasn't completely come back to reality. She takes being languid to its extremities. The acting of Redgrave, and the majority of the cast, could only be described as "Ham" of the first order. The part of the film depicting the war years was totally different. It held my attention, it was well acted and believable, it turned a very poor production into something rather less painful.

This is a well-acted, well-directed, beautifully photographed three-hour drama.

The scenes that flashback to WWII, about 40 years earlier than the main action, are especially good. Maximilian Shell is very good as the artist father. Maisie Dimbleby, who plays Penelope around age 25, is a delight to watch. All of the action between 1940 and 1945 is believable, engaging, and heart wrenching. It's a pure delight. I was thinking, wow, this is going to rate a 9 or 10.

The problem is the characters and scenes from 1982. Both male love interests are weak characters. Cosmo, Olivia's boyfriend, conveniently drops away. Later, the character of Danus is poorly developed and rather stereotyped. The son, Noel, is one-dimensional. Daughter Nancy (at age 41) is not much better.

Sadly, the last twenty minutes made me drop my rating to 7. I would do 7.5 if I could.

Still, it's a good vehicle for Vanessa Redgrave, and an appealing story. I like the symbolism of the shell.