Die Frucht des Tropenbaumes

This movie is not highlighted in any discussion of the careers of either Julie Andrews or Omar Sharif, but it's a jewel. It has romance (the subtleness of which is very effective without constant bedroom scenes), intrigue, espionage, exotic locations, a multi-layered plot and plenty of suspense. You do have to pay close attention to keep up with the rather complicated story, but it pays off. The '70's clothing and hair styles are amusing, and the Russians are no longer the "bad guys," but those facts don't detract from the great storyline. Andrews and Sharif make a very attractive couple, and play their parts perfectly. In fact, everyone turns in a fine performance in this, one of my favorite movies.

Wish the soundtrack were available on CD, also wish the movie were available on DVD. Not a big Sharif fan, but I have always enjoyed this movie. Really enjoy Anthony Quayle and Julie Andrews is very entertaining.

"The Tamarind Seed" is sometimes classified as a spy thriller, however it doesn't really belong to that category. This is essentially a romance, make no mistake about that.

Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif are very good in this film and make a highly believable screen couple. The pacing is slow and deliberate, but the plot should be intricate enough to keep you interested. I kept waiting for Andrews to burst out singing, but that never happened.

Anthony Quayle and Sylvia Syms are excellent in supporting roles.

Overall, "The Tamarind Seed" is a good movie for a Sunday afternoon.

I liked this one very much. Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif bring a very sober and realistic screenplay to life about real human beings involved/kept apart by the Cold War. I very much liked the Julie Andrews character who doesn't fear speaking about morality to a Communist likely to scoff, nor fear falling for that Communist with ehr eyes wide open, despite all the difficulties that would bring. Julie Andrews is just wonderful in this role - rather lonely, quite real, with warring feelings between head and heart about caring for someone who is dangerous to know - and in his work, dangerous to the Free World.

Omar Sharif is excellent - charming, quick-witted, falling for Andrews (and who wouldn't - she looks fantastic) despite himself, and finally making the life-changing decision to defect.

I can understand why some find the movie plodding - it certainly is by most spy movie standards. But it's trying to do something different - and admirably succeeding - one just feels the existence of the Iron Curtain here, and one feels the Andrews character making her point that at the heart of the Cold War are questions about the value to be given an individual human being by the state, the value of truth as capturing measurable facts, the value of allowing people to live by their own goals and values rather than those determined by the state.

And the over-arching question is an interesting one of emotional involvement despite world tensions.

You'll like its gradual unfolding - just don't look for James Bond.

This is one of the rare movies that tapped into Julie Andrews' understated sex appeal; she is radiant throughout, with a ripe beauty. Omar Sharif, as a philosophical Russian, also has his moments, but the cast that surrounds them is not as interesting; the story goes every which way and goes on too long, with some excitement only in the last 10 minutes. Don't miss the James Bond - like opening title sequence - designed by Maurice Binder and scored by John Barry! **1/2 out of 4.