Swept from the Sea

I rented this movie because I was trying to watch as many Rachel Weisz movies as possible (inspired by her acting in The Mummy Returns). I must say this movie is a gem I would have otherwise missed. I think this movie is all about subtlety of character. The whole enigma around Amy Foster exists only because people don't appreciate the subtleties of her personality and interactions with others. As Dr. Kennedy says in his narration, her silence was not out of inaction or stupidity; rather it was a way of communicating either disdain, disinterest, or disapproval for how others were treating her. Amy's main way of communicating, aside from her silence, was through her eyes. Even though Yanko learned to speak English, he also appreciated and learned to communicate in Amy's own language. I liked Vincent Perez's acting in this movie. His Russian accent was pretty authentic. The other British accents seemed to be mixed between various regions. I'd say this is probably the best acting I've seen out of Rachel Weisz in the five of her movies I've seen. However I notice that those expressions which I felt were so striking in this movie for this character are rather stereotyped expressions that she uses in general. I don't know whether that is what the directors are looking for or if this is one of the few acting flaws that Ms. Weisz might yet overcome. Overall score: 8/10

This movie is excellent. I knew the cast was good, and in fact all the performances are first class, but the story and the scenery are equally inviting. I caught this on a wet afternoon, and I was totally drawn in. Well worth watching, my only quibble is with the sound, which is too quiet during speech passages and too loud during the music and sound effects.

Konrad Korzeniowski at age 15 ran away from his native Poland to seek fortune in the world - the same as Yanko Gooral in this film - and fetched up at Marseilles. There he signed on as crewman on a merchant vessel and spent the next 15 years sailing the seven seas. At 30 years of age he landed in London and decided to settle. He married and began writing novels - in English. Now, what kind of English he learnt aboard merchant sailing ships late in the 19th Century might well be imagined: Greeks, Italians, Chinese, Filipinos, Indians, Galicians.........

However, his novels are among the greatest literary achievements in literature in the English language. His first novel near 1900, but as he had not been schooled in the Victorian style, his narrative was entirely different. Basing himself on his own experiences roaming the wild and wide seas, where he even went through a shipwreck, his novels were on the one hand resounding novels of adventure, if not of the swashbuckler type, but backed up by that deeply rooted Russian philosophical sense of feelings and human emotions. His novels are not simply `yarns' as such; nor are they simply romantic `nouvelles'; nor are they simply autobiographical; they are combination of all these, and much more. Today, among the best pieces of literature ever written in English, we have `Lord Jim' and `Nostromo', two gigantic tales with superb human and humane backgrounds.

Simply watching a film based on a Joseph Conrad novel is not enough to reveal all the invisible, profound thoughts, the real human philosophy of life, how humans think and react under different situations. To really understand this author it is imperative that you slowly read and digest his works. Perhaps you should start with `Almayer's Folly' before embarking on the two previously mentioned masterpieces.

However, `Swept from the Sea', based on his story `Amy Foster' does wonderfully well in not only showing the story, but also giving us a glimpse into the powerful thinking of Joseph Conrad. This point was evidently on Ms. Beeban Kidron's mind when she set out on making this film. Ably helped by her cast, the result is pretty good, even more than good. Vincent Perez is not bad, even quite good at times; Rachel Weisz has made the job of her life in a highly concentrated reading, and the supporting cast like Ian McKellar and Kathy Bates is top-notch stuff. The filming sequences on the Cornish coast in the deep south west of England, especially with the fog curling round the forelands and creeping up the inlets and into the harbours, or in the pouring rain, gives excellent ambientation to the telling of the story. John Barry's musical apportation was the same as always, such that if I had closed my eyes I might well have been watching `Dances With Wolves' (qv); however it fitted in with the proceedings and the photography well enough.

Filmed on the wild coastline of Cornwall, south-west England, now tamed by the August hordes of campers and footpathers, carvanners and English language learners; IMDb lists Pentire Point on the northern coastline, but I cannot help thinking that I saw some village streets such as in Mullion, Coverack or even Mousehole (pronounced "muzzle") on the south coast of that beautiful holidaying area of England. The famous author John Le Carré also has his home down there.

This is a film worth seeing, even for the most pedantic and enthusiastic readers of Conrad's novels such as I, precisely because I think Conrad himself would have been quite pleased with Ms. Kidron's work, with Tim Willocks' very correct adaptation for the screen.

But whatever happens, do not pass up reading and seeing Conrad's Masterpiece, converted into a masterpiece for TV "Nostromo" (1996) (mini) (qv).

I managed to catch this film while channel surfing and quickly ushered my children outside so that I could enjoy the show. Although the cinematography may not be up to Hollywood standards of crisp, digitized landscapes I found the film to be a wonderful tale. If you have felt like the outsider, ever tried to shut off your emotions in order to stop others from hurting you - you will have no trouble relating to the character of Amy Foster. The acting was well done (I am not an expert at English dialects, although I'd say the accents were as adequately done as the actors who attempted the Newfie accent in The Shipping News). I love historical tales (Jane Austen is a favourite) and thoroughly enjoyed this one as well. 8 out of 10

Just a point of clarification regarding the summary for this film: Yanko is not Russian in this film. If you listen carefully to what he is actually saying in the movie, he is speaking Ukrainian. For example, in the scene later in the movie in which he is feverish, he keeps repeating a phrase over and over again. The phrase that he is saying is, "Dai meni vodi." In English translation, he is saying, "Give me some water." In addition, the immigration details of his circumstances and trip would fit with immigration from Ukraine or borderlands between Ukraine and Poland (although he is not speaking Polish) at the turn of the century. He plays chess, which would be consistent with Ukrainian heritage (among others). Finally, his clothing and the type of dance he does with his son is Ukrainian in style. The expansive arms and the gentleness with which he is dancing speaks more of a Ukrainian dance style than a Russian style. However, the most obvious and relevant point is that the language he is speaking in the film is Ukrainian, not Russian. Unfortunately, many people confuse Russian culture with Ukrainian and other East European peoples. IMDb probably should correct its description of this film for accuracy.