L'homme amphibie

I finally saw this movie for the first time tonight, and thought it was enthralling. It creates a mood and a vibe with its music and imagery that sort of draws you into its dreamy embrace. The two lead characters are both so beautiful that it gives the movie a storybook quality. Acting is impressive. Science fiction takes a distant back door to romance in the storyline., but the small role it plays really enhances the drama of the story. If you are enamored of more modern cinematography, the production values in Amphibian Man will seem primitive, but if you appreciate old film styles, this is a classic piece of art from the early 1960s.

'Amphibian Man' is one of the oddest movies I've ever seen. From the title, and the initial premise - poor fishman and their families are frightened by an unknown monster they nickname "the sea devil" - you might think you're in for a 'Creature From The Black Lagoon' style monster movie, but this movie is a completely different thing. What kind of "thing" it is exactly is difficult to summarize, because I can't honestly think of any other movie I've seen which is quite like it. Technically SF, but more of a fantasy romance in execution. It is a very unusual but charming movie. The "monster" turns out to be the son of a local benevolent scientist who has had shark gills transplanted into his body and has a secret underwater life. He falls in love with the beautiful daughter of a local fisherman who has been betrothed to an ambitious cad she doesn't love. It is a marriage borne of economic necessity. Pretty soon Amphibian Man and Ambitious Cad clash and our hero finds himself persecuted, and eventually kidnapped. I really enjoyed this film, it has quite a unique, eccentric feel to it and has some genuinely touching moments, and even a song or two. The production values are quite impressive for the era, the premise is interestingly handled, and the acting is generally above average. I was fortunate enough to watch the Russian print with English subtitles. I believe there are some badly dubbed versions of this movie around so try and avoid those if you can and see the original to fully appreciate this little gem.

If this is the film I think it is, they showed it, alot, on a horror/movie program in New York in the 60's called "Thriller". I have been trying to find this for years! I tell all my friends about this film and I remember it as "The Amphibian Man". I also remember it was sad, very sad, that is why it stuck with me for years. Silly thing was, I thought it was an Italian film so that is where I've been trying to find it! I am a big horror film fan because at 4 years old, my older brothers watched these Saturday night New York Shows on Channel 5 (Creature Double Feature) and 11 (Thriller). This was during a time when there was not that many remotes so what they looked at, as the little sister, I had to look at too. Which is why I remember this film and haven't seen it since I was seven years old. (By that time we got cable, my brothers were older and I got the tv!) And let me add one more thing, many IMDb poster have written about films ripe for "remakes" for Hollywood Directors and Producers other than the ones they are doing. If I was one of those folks, I'd put this on my list to consider. This is a Speilberg-esque family sci-fi film just waiting to be remade. Then again, I like it just fine the way it is.

On the Argentine coast, the locals live in fear of the "sea devil", a fish-man who has been frequently spotted in the nearby ocean. In reality, he's Ichtyandor (Vladimir Korenev), a young man who was born human, but with a deadly lung disease. His brilliant scientist father Professor Salvator (Nikolai Simonov) grafted shark gills onto the boy, relieving his ailment and granting him the ability to breathe underwater. One day Ichtyandor rescues beautiful young woman Gutiere (Anastasiya Vetinskaya), and he falls instantly in love with her. Unfortunately, she's been promised in marriage to lout Pedro (Mikhail Kozakov). Also featuring Anatoliy Smiranin, and Vladlen Davydov.

I really enjoyed this colorful and energetic romance. It exists in its own, slightly surreal world, which is exaggerated by the setting and the characters all being Argentinian, yet played by Russians in the Russian language. The direction is propulsive and inventive, and there's a quaint joy to the 60's era aesthetic seen in the fish-man's silver suit and his father's high-tech lab home. I also appreciated the film's sense of humor. Recommended.

I loved this film for many reasons. Most people who saw it, saw it as children on late night TV, but I didn't get to catch up with it till now. It has a lovely heart to it and although certainly naive and simple for todays standards, it possesses a warmth that is so often missing from other mostly american films of it's Genre and time period.

Certainly there are some strange aspects to it. The setting - which is either Spain or Mexico clashes with the Russian language and the Greek, Spanish and French character names. Perhaps this is done to give a sense of internationalism to the film.

But the thing I loved most about this film is it's social rather than political subtext. While many of this 1960's SCI-FI Genre concentrate on Nuclear accidents, fear of technology etc, Amphibian Man is instead concerned with the world that is created by simple human greed and cruelty. There is no BIG threat here, only trying to exist in a world that is made by men who are greedy and selfish. It is interesting to see that while US cinema was hysterical about the threat of nuclear technology and specifically the threat of Communist Russia, This Russian Film was more concerned with working within the world as it stood and looking at the problems that do exist rather than scaring people with over the top nuclear threats.

The Amphibian Man is not created by accident - but by scientific technology, and the purpose is not as a weapon but as a social advance. Even the "evil" Don Pedro - never thinks of using the "sea Devil" as a weapon but only to collect pearls and increase Pedro's personal fortune.

It is a truly interesting movie, allowing me to see another mind set of that era that is not the American one. And the bittersweet ending is far from unsatisfying.