Balayé par la mer

I caught this movie today by chance, it was a quiet Sunday so i gave it a chance. The beauty of the landscape is matched by Rachel Weisz. Vincent Perez has the most kind eyes that completely draw you in. Their passionate love affair leaves you absolutely breathless. Ian McKellen shines. His portrayal of a man scarred from and scared of love is tremendous. The look in his eyes near then end when he realizes that he was wrong about Weisz's character is filled with anguish and regret. Perez is a perfect gentleman in every respect, even when he comes up against the harsh and cruel opposition of the people in his new home. You not only feel for him in his anguish but feel with him. This movie sticks with you afterwords. It makes you feel beautiful and you ache with the characters. Highly recommended.

I managed to catch this film while channel surfing and quickly ushered my children outside so that I could enjoy the show. Although the cinematography may not be up to Hollywood standards of crisp, digitized landscapes I found the film to be a wonderful tale. If you have felt like the outsider, ever tried to shut off your emotions in order to stop others from hurting you - you will have no trouble relating to the character of Amy Foster. The acting was well done (I am not an expert at English dialects, although I'd say the accents were as adequately done as the actors who attempted the Newfie accent in The Shipping News). I love historical tales (Jane Austen is a favourite) and thoroughly enjoyed this one as well. 8 out of 10

I rented this movie because I was trying to watch as many Rachel Weisz movies as possible (inspired by her acting in The Mummy Returns). I must say this movie is a gem I would have otherwise missed. I think this movie is all about subtlety of character. The whole enigma around Amy Foster exists only because people don't appreciate the subtleties of her personality and interactions with others. As Dr. Kennedy says in his narration, her silence was not out of inaction or stupidity; rather it was a way of communicating either disdain, disinterest, or disapproval for how others were treating her. Amy's main way of communicating, aside from her silence, was through her eyes. Even though Yanko learned to speak English, he also appreciated and learned to communicate in Amy's own language. I liked Vincent Perez's acting in this movie. His Russian accent was pretty authentic. The other British accents seemed to be mixed between various regions. I'd say this is probably the best acting I've seen out of Rachel Weisz in the five of her movies I've seen. However I notice that those expressions which I felt were so striking in this movie for this character are rather stereotyped expressions that she uses in general. I don't know whether that is what the directors are looking for or if this is one of the few acting flaws that Ms. Weisz might yet overcome. Overall score: 8/10

Just a point of clarification regarding the summary for this film: Yanko is not Russian in this film. If you listen carefully to what he is actually saying in the movie, he is speaking Ukrainian. For example, in the scene later in the movie in which he is feverish, he keeps repeating a phrase over and over again. The phrase that he is saying is, "Dai meni vodi." In English translation, he is saying, "Give me some water." In addition, the immigration details of his circumstances and trip would fit with immigration from Ukraine or borderlands between Ukraine and Poland (although he is not speaking Polish) at the turn of the century. He plays chess, which would be consistent with Ukrainian heritage (among others). Finally, his clothing and the type of dance he does with his son is Ukrainian in style. The expansive arms and the gentleness with which he is dancing speaks more of a Ukrainian dance style than a Russian style. However, the most obvious and relevant point is that the language he is speaking in the film is Ukrainian, not Russian. Unfortunately, many people confuse Russian culture with Ukrainian and other East European peoples. IMDb probably should correct its description of this film for accuracy.

It was a mean time both historically and geographically. The people lived on a stark and barren spit of land attached to a strikingly beautiful yet often-ferocious sea. Storms were frequent and accompanied by howling winds, slashing rains and crashing waves which occasionally ended in catastrophic shipwrecks. People scratched around just to subsist. The harsh elements succeeded in stealing love from their souls, much as the sea stole lives from the broken ships. Those who did not fit in were scorned and made to suffer. Notwithstanding all this however, this story talks to the will of 2 simple people, who though raised in a harsh land by even harsher people manage to find love and peace, albeit for a short while, despite outrageous cruelties visited upon them. *** 1/2 Stars; 1 Hankie.