User reviews

Part psychological drama,part adventures, this Cacoyannis movie belongs to the first part of his career ,before he hit the big time with his famous "Zorba the Greek".

A man (Van HEFLIN , it's quite surprising to see him in this Italy/Cyprus co-production) whose marriage is on the rocks,sets out for a little sail (and not around the globe as the storyline reads)on a simple motorboat (and not on a yacht ,as the storyline claims) which explodes :hence the title "IL relitto" = the wreck .

This wreck of course is symbolic and it may seem a bit ponderous: the wreck of the boat parallels that of the marriage .

After the wreckage,with only debris to keep them afloat ,father and son are going to struggle for their life in the middle of the sea :today ,this subject has become a favorite for fans of suspenseful movies ,but Cacoyannis' treatment is first psychological drama .

The scenes of these two unfortunate shipwrecked persons are interspersed with many flashbacks which show the last quarrel between this wealthy alcoholic with his wife (Ellie Lambetti) wooed by a handsome man (Fabrizio Fabrizi).

Although this treatment may seem pretty original ,it actually throws the film off balance : these scenes from the past begin to drag on after a while ,and are finally quite derivative .On the contrary , when the director comes back to his heroes lost at sea,he makes his work a winner : pictures of the mother which appear and disappear beneath the waves gives the movie an eerie touch ;moreover,Van Heflin is excellent (apart from the child,the other actors are indifferent) as this father,hoping against hope, comforting his terrified son,realizing that his life itself has been a long wreckage . You should watch it for him .

An uneven film of Cacoyannis, which was believed lost and quite recently was recovered and restored. Based on lots of flashbacks, storyline is confused and not very strong overall, in my opinion. Some scenes are quite powerful and well acted, there are some interesting shots, but then it becomes dull or fake at some points. The kid's acting is brilliant, and also the father-son relationship is very moving, presented through their one-night ordeal. I found the protagonist overreacting at times, and could not quite understand his breakdown or identify with his "drama". Lambeti is very good, as always... Dubbing is always a bad option, and so it was in this film too (you could see actors spoke english, but were dubbed in italian). Cacoyiannis has definitely made much better films, but this one is worth watching, even if for some parts of it, to have a complete picture of Lambeti and Cacoyiannis filmography.

The Star - The Myth Of The Global Theatre & Cinemas!

-------- THE PHENOMENON OF ACTING --------

THE LEGENDARY UNIQUE ELEGANT AND SIC LADY, GREEK ACTRESS ELLIE LAMPETI.