The Beach

I went to this one, knowing that it could be crap, but hey, I do not care what others think and once again this way of thinking did not prove me wrong.

This flick is basically about a young twenty who goes away on a trip to Thailand by himself, because he wants to forget his past. There he meets a loony (Robert Carlyle) who gives him a map to a secret paradise. He asks two strangers, Françoise (Virginie Ledoyen who was really great in her first big American Film and good looking too by the way) and Etienne (Guillaume Canet) to come and join them.

After they have found the island they meet an alternative group who lives there and they join them, but after a while problems evolve and a minor 'hell' breaks loose.

This is the plain story-line of the movie, but there is so much more to it, it has a message and that really is what fascinated me a lot in the beginning and at the end. There was a good story there, but the way it was brought over, never really losing the actual message out of sight. Now believe me the direction, the soundtrack and the cast are good. There also is a bit gore, but it fits good in the movie and is not unnecessary.

Yet this film is not flawless, it was good entertainment over all, yes and it was very good in the beginning and in the end, but in the middle when Richard (Leonardo DiCaprio) loses it, so does the film and that is a shame. It is just too weird, too long and too incomprehensible (in the sense that the viewer himself doesn't know if it is real or not). It could have been so much better, but I guess it had to be.

NO MUST SEE BUT DEFINATELY WORTH A TRIP TO THE VIDEOSTORE OR TO THE CINEMA AT A DISCOUNT!!!!!!!!

7 out of 10

P.S. Don't agree?????, sue me!!!!!!!!!!! or mail me (see above)

When you travel, you are surrounded by people. Amidst all that foreign intrigue, you are truly alone - an opportunity to be truthful to your instincts.

When you are young and you travel, recklessness and the need to experience drive almost all your decision, well other than budgetary constraints.

It is therefore quite truthful at times to relate to the character who is in search of this ultimate freedom, a place where all your worldly obligations are suspended and irrelevant.

The movie is an irony. Not only externally, that though it depicts the end purity of nature when fox's being sued for environmental damage, but also that any man-found paradise is not free, but with a price and in this case, could be the ultimate price.

I truly enjoyed the movie especially at times the sparks of life's insight and moments of traveller's consciousness that when you are there, in that destination, IT becomes reality and no longer are you foreign and problems arise regardless.

Though the romance is distracting, Etienne, Canet's portrayal is quite the eye candy.

Definitely a watch, but may not appeal to all tastes.

This is one of the few times that I have been badly mislead by the reviews on IMDb! I avoided this film in the past because of this, but thought it would be a good "soft" film to watch on video with with a friend and his wife (she doesn't like difficult films).

What a revelation! I understand that people who have read the book may be disappointed, but as an uneducated viewer this is a fantastic film! Novel situation, novel location (beautiful images, even though the beach was re-modeled), novel plot, novel characters (all of whom are wildly different yet possible to sympathise with - except maybe for Bugs)... this film has everything in it that I find so desperately lacking in the average Hollywood pulp I'm forced to watch with friends.

And I *liked* the fact that the film made a few surprising changes in style... I hate knowing the end of a story at least an hour before it finally grinds its inevitable way there (see any "action" film).

Paradise - the search of it. Where are we at home? Could we live anywhere? Could we do without all the technical gadgets? I'm not saying living alone (though for some that may be the way to do and live it), but living without certain things that make life "easier" ... or at least that is how we perceive it.

Nature can be quite the enticing thing. And it is in this movie too. The Beach that lends the movie the title is quite the sight. And for a vacation spot ... I mean you could do far worse. Now there had been rumors that the filming was done on a beach or in a place that was supposed to not be touched by western civilization ... I remember Leonardo DiCaprio getting quite a lot of heat because some activists were not happy with him.

I can't confirm if they actually loitered or ruined nature in one way or another. If that really interests you, you surely will know a way to find out. I just thought I give an insentive to those who are interested in behind the scenes thing - real or not. Then there is also those who may take offense in the portrayal of certain animals (feeding into our fears and portraying them way more evil than they actually are - talking sharks here).

The movie itself is quite the decent thriller. Because the Paradise is not all fun and games. It is also filled with cliches and quite the predictable plot. Still the movie knows to hold up its tension and has quite a few gruesome moments too (graphic violence that is). Not a bad movie then, but not a masterpiece either in my book (while I came to finally admire Leo, his character here is not as relatable - choices and such. There's a general detachment from it all)

I know the movie had decent ratings, but it didn't sound like an enjoyable movie. Well I was wrong, it was pretty good. Leo seems to have more decent movies then not so it's fairly safe to assume if he is in a movie it's worth the watch. Great acting on all parts. Tilda Swinton was great too as she usually is. The plot was interesting but a little predictable. I enjoyed Richard losing his grip on reality a little, it made it more believable. I played with the idea of rating it a 7 but it got more interesting even though it took a minute to get there so I'll stick with 8. Id recommend it to a friend.