A Lagoa Azul

I've never understood the critical slam this film has received. Then I saw the widescreen dvd version and understood; everyone has been watching it in pan and scan! The film is a visual poem. So much of the story telling is done through visual information. The impact of this is lost when the cinematography is altered. Remember that Nestor Almendros received an Academy Award nomination for his work on this film. The film has resonated with global audiences for so long for this very reason. I suggest people watch the dvd commentary with Randal Kleiser and Brooke Shields to get a better understanding of why this film is still such a popular one.

People attack the acting, but these are children left alone with no one to guide them into adult sophistication. Their interaction and reactions to situations are very consistent with this scenario. Yes, the birth scene is a little rushed, but do we really need to see the umbilical cord? Not all films need to be about gritty reality, ala "Taxi Driver." No one asks to see the bloody guts of the smashed witch in "The Wizard of Oz."

It is a beautiful, romantic film that speaks to millions of people. It seems that only the most skeptical cynics cannot embrace this film.

This movie is about love and romance. It is about 2 children who are stranded forced to learn everything about survival and life on there own. They are also forced to deal with very adult issues on their own such as Patty's death. Patty was the only adult to be stranded with them. His death came when he found a keg of rum, got drunk and decided to swim for his rescue. This happened shortly after they were marooned and the kids found him dead in the morning. Up until that point Patty had been giving them advice and trying to raise them the best that he could. I found it charming that they still had the vocabulary of a child even into adulthood but gradually they started figuring more things out, for instance, there is a big scene about Emeline realizing that there really a Santa and that the sun doesn't really make a hissing sound when it sinks into the ocean each night.

There was some press at the time about them, (Christpher Atkins, and Brooke Shields) doing nude scenes which resulted in them not actually being nude at all in the film, they are wearing body stockings in the water.

My review has nothing to do with the perfect beauty of Brooke Shields because I am a straight female. Brooke was at her most radiant.

One excellent part of the film comes after the two have been bickering for days and then Emeline becomes sick and falls asleep. It forced the viewer to think about how much grief would be felt by one if the other should die, really all they had was each other and eventually a baby. Everything depended on them both staying alive.

I believe that anyone who didn't love this movie as much as me, missed the entire story somehow. It wasn't about Brooke being nude and it wasn't about life in paradise it was about innocence. This was a huge hit film back in it's day and launched Brooke's career into super stardom.

When I was 17 years old I stayed up till 3am one night to watch a late showing of this film. I had seen clips of 'The Blue Lagoon' when I was younger and it always remained embedded in my mind. The truth is that no movie has ever affected me like this one. I didn't know what force made me feel such deep sensations - whether it was the magnificent exotic island, Emmeline's beauty, the heart-capturing sound track or a combination of all - all I knew is that I longed to be there. I longed to be in such an idealistic and beautiful haven (no matter how unrealistic it seemed). But now I've come to live in the 'real world'. All I can do now is appreciate the idea of the film and the important themes it represents. Such a dream only exists in Heaven.

I have always liked this film, and don't like it when it is criticized so much. Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins did a wonderful job, they were excellent. Brooke is a beautiful, talented actress. The scenery was just gorgeous, it makes you want to fly off to Fiji where they filmed most of the movie to see what it is really like. The music is also very good. The story starts out with a ship which catches fire, and everyone is forced to abandon ship. Two young children, Richard and Emmeline, as well as a drunken cook named Paddy, get on a lifeboat together and drift on the sea for many days, until they discover land, a bunch of little remote tropical islands. They build a home there. Time passes, and Paddy passes away, but Richard and Emmeline continue growing up together. They get older, and new feelings come over them. They discover many things about adolescence and sex. This is a great love story, sweet and lovable. Brooke and Chris make a great onscreen couple. The sex/nudity scenes are not really that bad at all, they're rather mild. There is more nudity in the underwater swimming sequences, but mostly all of that was done by Brooke's stand-in, a professional diver. I really like this movie, and even though there are a few logic loopholes, it is still enjoyable. My only complaint: I think this film could've gone on for about 5 more mins. or so and explained things a little bit better.

Although panned by most critics, this film represents something we all want: love and beauty. Beauty, on more levels than just Brooke Shields' tan, in being true love, without the "corruption" of western culture, feelings of guilt or shame. Though being called unrealistic- is it really? If we all went back to a simpler way of life, cut through the complicated nature of everyday life, could we not be more stable, and find true love? I enjoyed this film, it was witty, innocent, and beautiful.