Castaway - the island

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Movie
German title Castaway - the island
Original title Castaway
Country of production Great Britain
original language English
Publishing year 1987
length 117 minutes
Age rating FSK 12
Rod
Director Nicolas Roeg
script Allan Scott
production Rick McCallum
music Stanley Myers
camera Harvey Harrison
cut Tony Lawson
occupation

The British relationship drama Castaway - Die Insel ( Castaway ) by Nicolas Roeg from 1987 is a modern robinsonad based on an autobiographical model by Lucy Irvine and thus based on true events. Lucy Irvine ( Amanda Donohoe ) and Gerald Kingsland ( Oliver Reed ) leave as a complete stranger to a lonely island to live on air and love for a year.

action

London: Gerald Kingsland, 45, is a publisher and writer with children. He publishes an advertisement in Time Out : “A year on a lonely island . 'Wife' 20-30 wanted to accompany a man 35+. "

He pretends to seek self-awareness as inspiration for his next book. The basically old-fashioned Gerald holds interviews for the role in the downright indecent idyllic hermit life. Lucy Irvine, a 24-year-old employee with a poorly fulfilling livelihood, is chosen because of her thirst for adventure and, not least, her appearance. Lucy surrenders herself to him personally and to his extraordinarily brave idea for better or for worse. At the same time, she prepares for a temporary relationship in advance. The chemistry between them is reasonably right. So in May 1981 the charismatic Gerald and the quick-witted, emphatically independent Lucy went to the tropical island of Tuin off the coast of Australia of their own free will . Due to the entry requirements, they have to get married first.

When you arrive on the paradisiacal island, your stay is all too difficult. Gerald also forgot important equipment. He has to lose weight. More and more the lazy Gerald and the revealing Lucy get "on the nerves" ( BZ ) in their cobbled together hut . Gerald is sometimes indifferent, sometimes grumpy, she is frustrated and bitchy, and likes the island more than him.

She threatens him with withdrawal of love; Sunburn , dirt and boredom are rampant. Gerald, who is becoming increasingly silly, is a burden to her because he is only lazy on the beach when he is not chasing after her. After a drought, food becomes scarce. He is battered by bees and she nurses him to health after teaching her to fish. He gets an allergic reaction on his legs.

The scene doesn't seem that far away: two young men arrive who they want to interview about a population census. Gerald reacts jealously and disgusts her. When the two fell ill with a high fever , two nuns from the neighboring island of Badu were able to save their lives. In general, Lucy turns out to be the stronger of the partners. The wishes and goals of both remain unclear, but their relationship changes in a barely noticeable way.

When Gerald takes on repair and handicrafts for food and clothing for a friend at Badu, civilization and convenience gradually return to their existence. He commutes back and forth between the islands, and the phases of his absence grow longer and longer. She then gives in to him again. At last they break off their life-threatening and sobering adventure. The two go their separate ways. She goes home, he stays on the islands. They write down their experiences separately and publish them.

Reviews

  • "A film that can only begin to describe the failure of the ' adventure ' and is mostly stuck in superficial, sometimes transfiguring, aesthetic illustrations." ( Lexicon of international film )
  • "The whole thing sounds much more interesting than it really is." ( Prisma )
  • “You torture yourself as best you can. Not a major work by the ingenious Roeg, but worth seeing. "( Ekkehard Knörer : Jump Cut )
  • “The bumps grow, so do the metaphors. [...] The film lasts forever; a shark passes by, the surf gurgles, the camera undertakes poetic diving trips [...] everything captured on noble fujicolor, bright, suntanned, with greased lenses and steep associations ”( Andreas Kilb : Die Zeit )
  • "Played in a multi-faceted way, and the film's adept handling of the passage of time and the subtle developments of the characters keep you interested - and that's an achievement, considering the lack of an overarching 'dramatic' goal" ( Jonathan Rosenbaum )
  • “Newcomer Amanda Donohoe uses most of the film to show how little bikini strips she has on her body (palm trees usually hide the lower parts of Oliver Reed as Gerald Kingsland), and she gets along well with a character, their motivation and Details of the retreat to the small island remain nebulous. [...] Reed made the appearance of his life as a sexually frustrated middle class looking for sun and sex, perfectly complemented by Amanda Donohoe as the determined and fickle object of his desire. "( Variety )
  • “You don't really know what is fantasy and what is reality […] and not as challenging as Roeg's other films. [...] at least a director who does not depend on being disliked or his characters, whom he often presents in a less than favorable light, inadequate as they and 'their' world are [...] Eureka for me is almost a- Masterpiece [...] Castaway, on the other hand, is solid all around and by no means screwed up [...] - but it didn't completely blow me away. "(Raging Bull Movie Reviews)
  • “The performance of Castaway at the Cannes Film Festival was accompanied by boos. 'Virtuoso camera magic gives the flat mind game a colorful shell, but unfortunately the tropical dream is subject to the visual wear and tear caused by the advertising aesthetics.' ( zitty ) "( Jens Golombek : Das große Film-Lexikon. All top films from A – Z, 1995)

Jonathan Rosenbaum particularly emphasizes the numerous successful underwater shots. The Time Out Film Guide , according to it is essentially about "stranger in a strange land, love and hate, and the whole damn stuff" ( strangers in strange lands, love and hate and the whole damn thing ), by Mike Lorefice in Raging Bull Movie Reviews about "sex, fantasy, obsession, communication, reliability, needs & hypocrisy" ( sex, fantasy, obsession, communication, reliance, need, & hypocrisy ).

Others

  • Gerald Kingsland described his point of view in The Islander .
  • The film was shot in London and the Seychelles .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ a b Wonderful Person , Der Spiegel 1/1985 of December 31, 1984.
  2. ↑ a b c Jonathan Rosenbaum: Not Coming Soon to a Theater Near You. In: www.jonathanrosenbaum.net. September 16, 1988, accessed on May 2, 2014 (English): “The performances of Reed and Donohue are both richly detailed, and the film's adept handling of the passage of time and the subtle developments in both characters keep it absorbing - which is no small achievement considering the overall absence of a clear 'dramatic' agenda "
  3. ↑ Castaway - The Island . In: Berliner Zeitung , May 2, 1995
  4. ^ Castaway - The island in the lexicon of international filmsTemplate: LdiF / Maintenance / Access used
  5. ↑ Castaway - The Island. In: Prism . www.prisma.de, accessed on November 29, 2008 .
  6. ^ Ekkehard Knörer : Service: Film on TV: June 27, 2004. In: Jump Cut . Retrieved November 29, 2008 .
  7. ^ Andreas Kilb : Films . In: Die Zeit , No. 43/1987
  8. ^ Variety Staff: Castaway. (No longer available online.) In: Variety . January 1, 1987, formerly in the original ; accessed on November 29, 2008 (English): "Newcomer Amanda Donohoe spends most of the pic displaying the absence of bikini marks on her body (palm trees always seem to obscure the vital parts of Oliver Reed as Gerald Kingsland), and she copes well with a character whose motives and methods for going to the tiny desert island remain dubious. [...] Reed gives the performance of his career as a sexually frustrated middle-aged man in search of sun and sex, and is admirably complemented by Amanda Donohoe as the determined but fickle object of his lust "
  9. ↑ a b Mike Lorefice: Castaway. In: Raging Bull Movie Reviews. March 8, 2002, accessed on November 29, 2008 : “you aren't quite sure if something is reality or fantasy […] not as challenging as most of Roeg's other films though […] Certainly Roeg is a director that doesn't require to be liked or that you like his characters, which he's not afraid to regularly show in an unflattering light because human beings and 'their' world are very imperfect. […] To me Eureka is a flawed masterpiece. [...] Castaway on the other hand is a very solid film in all aspects that isn't really flawed [...] doesn't totally blow me away "
  10. ↑ Jens Golombek in: Dirk Manthey, Jörg Altendorf, Willy Loderhose (Hrsg.): Das große Film-Lexikon. All top films from A-Z . Second edition, revised and expanded new edition. Verlagsgruppe Milchstraße, Hamburg 1995, ISBN 3-89324-126-4 , p. 466 ff .
  11. ↑ DAt: Castaway. In: Time Out London. Retrieved November 29, 2008 .
  12. ^ The Library of Congress
  13. ↑ IMDb : " Filming locations "