Sandcastles

I was 23 when I saw Sandcastles in '72, and absolutely loved it. Anytime I hear Sibelius's Finlandia I think of this movie, although for the longest time I couldn't remember the name or cast of the movie, although I could picture the main players. I just heard the music again, and had to search...and I found this site. Now I know that I'm not totally out of my mind. The cast was perfect, as was the music. I knew from the first strains of Finlandia, and watching Bonnie Bedelia's face as she played the violin, that this was going to be a wonderfully romantic movie, and that romance, along with the "mystery", made for an unlikely combination to equal a fantastic movie. Yes, it should be repeated, at least a few more times. Let the younger generations see what a true romance is.

Maybe it's nostalgia, or maybe I'm getting mushy in my old age, but I enjoy this film more and more as I get older. I haven't been able to find it on cable or network television, so I was thrilled to pick it up for a buck at a garage sale.

Jan Michael Vincent is touching and sincere (not to mention gorgeous) and Bonnie Bedelia is lovely and charming. The plot is simple and gentle - an easy watch.

Like so many others here, I've been haunted and mesmerized by "Sandcastles" since I was 12. And I, too, couldn't find a soul who had ever heard of it. I only saw the movie once, but I loved Jan-Michael Vincent passionately for years after. I couldn't really remember anything about the movie except the powerful emotional impact it had on me and, of course, the pre-adolescent lust.

I'm truly afraid to track down a copy of it because of the likely disappointment I'll feel comparing it to my idealized memory.

I've been so saddened in recent years to read of Vincent's descent into what sounds like a hell of depression and alcoholism. I want to remember him as the gorgeous, breathtaking, sensitive young man he was back in 1972. I was never impressed with his later career and the overly-macho and un-nuanced characters he played.

I wish him peace in this world or another life. Something about him made a profound impression on me at 12.

I agree with everyone else that I thought I had imagined this movie years ago because I could never find anything about it. I remember watching as a teen and "falling in love" with Jan Michael Vincent! My husband liked him in the action films he has done but couldn't remember this movie (I guess so he was a guy). I am so glad I found it, now if I can find it somewhere to purchase! And I hope it lives up to my sketchy memory. All I could remember was the name sandcastles and Jan Michael Vincent.

If you have never seen this movie before and you like romantic movies then check it out!

I too saw this for the 1st time late one night and it captured me. It was simple and low-budget but the format was almost as if it was live. It took me back in time to a beautiful California that I remember as a young boy. It took me back to my 1st love as a teenager. There is something about it that I can't explain. We passed in the night from a long time ago. The story was simple and the plot wasn't deep but I couldn't break away for a minute. I felt like I was back in time and all I could feel was that I wanted to be there. There was such a goodness to the man who owned Pappa Bears. He gave a great performance and I have a slight memory of him as an Actor. It was definitely 70's and I felt like I was back there for a short time. A time for me that was so much simpler and pure.