The film tells the story of Russian emigree and the only survivor from ship crash Yanko Goorall and servant Amy Foster in the end of 19th century. When Yanko enters a farm sick and hungry after the shipwreck, everyone is afraid of him, except for Amy, who is very kind and helps him. Soon he becomes like a son for Dr. James Kennedy and romance between Yanko and Amy follows.
**_A Ukrainian man washes ashore in Cornwall, England, 1888_**
The plot can be traced back 2750 years to Odysseus’ experiences on the island of Ogygia with nymph Calypso, as well as his washing up on Scheria and the response of Princess Nausicaa. This variation was based on Joseph Conrad’s 1901 story “Amy Foster.” The plot would rear its head once again nine years later in “Tristan + Isolde.”
Unfortunately, this isn’t anywhere near as good as “Tristan + Isolde.” The story is way more mundane, and I don’t like the way things pan out in the second half, although it’s telegraphed from the get-go.
Still, you can’t beat the Cornish locations and period milieu. Rachel Weisz is lovely; Vincent Perez is effective in a Christopher Lambert kind of way; and Ian McKellen’s character is interesting. Kathy Bates is also on hand as a paraplegic.
Fans of, say, “Legends of the Fall” should appreciate it, although it’s less eventful. “December Boys” borrowed from it ten years later for a superior film IMHO.
It runs 1h 55m and was shot in late summer/early fall of 1996 in ten spots of Cornwall in southwest England, as well as Keighley, which is located 212 miles northwest of London.
GRADE: B-/C+
