Sappho

I'm disappointed that the page for the movie gives no credit to the book Garden of Eden by Hemingway. The movie is very heavily based on the storyline of that book, taking whole passages and conversations almost verbatim. It is not one of his more famous novels, but it still seems unlikely that even a foreign release could get away with not crediting such an influential author.

The movie itself is visually appealing and the production quality is pretty good. The acting is terrible though. Stiff and uninspired. I wouldn't have finished watching it had I not wanted to see if it ended the same way as the book. I do not recommend this movie overall.

My girlfriend more or less dragged me to this movie in St. Petersburg, Russia. I was determined to hate it, and I ended up liking it. She'd give it 10 stars, I know, but since this is really a chick flick for girls who are still asking "who am I?", and I'm a guy who already knows who he is, I'll give it eight stars. For the visuals and the music I'd give it ten stars, and the script contains some great lines too, and the actors are all good-looking eye candy - it's just a pity that sometimes it feels that some emotion wasn't felt, just imitated.

All in all, the movie's like a holiday from reality - beautiful landscapes, wonderful costumes, and 2 actresses who look as good with nothing on as with something on, superb music, and a strange story that drags you in and puts you in a trance. It was a real ugly shock to come out of the cinema back to a gray and rainy city again.

I couldn't watch this movie without cringing at the lead girl. She really was hard to watch. I felt like it was like playing dress up for her.

This was apparently 1926 and I couldn't tell how old she was or what. She walked like Paris Hilton, Not Greta Garbo. She didn't seem to know anything about how an upperclass girl acted in 26. Also, did she have an accent? did she not? I really hope I don't see any more of this idiot.

The lead actor though wasn't too bad. I felt like he really carried the movie for me.

It was an OK movie over all. I won't watch it again. I can't bear the audacious acting.

Sappho really is like a modern Greek tragedy - it's set on a Greek island, and it uses all the conventions of that ancient form of drama - it all happens in one place, in one month, with only one line of action, and the characters are carried forward by fate towards an end that they can't avoid.

And it works! It seems new and fresh and interesting in this age when all movies look the same. It's a real tearjerker.

For movie buffs who wonder where the movie was made, it was made in Crimea on the Black Sea. The main location is the Vorontsov Palace. Lots of movies have been made in Crimea, but this is perhaps the most beautiful of them all - the locations and the photography are superb!!!

I picked this movie up at a flea market. It reminded me of Summer Lovers with Daryl Hannah and Peter Gallagher in 1982. Many other reviewers said the acting and dialog were wooden and other than the scenery and music, and some good erotic scenes, you should give the movie a pass. I have always loved Summer Lovers (1982) with MUCH better dialog, acting and story, but I wish I could merge the two. Always thought the 1982 version was the perfect erotic movie that just stopped short. The 2008 is the extra but left behind all the class and quality that made the original a good movie.