"Sebastian" tells the story of a tumultuous relationship between a major British cryptographer and one of his female underlings, both of whom are fiercely intelligent but flawed individuals. Both of them have a temper and both of them need to perform a confidential and hugely stressful job, meaning that love does not walk smoothly along a sun-kissed path...
Now this movie straddles two genres, to wit romance and espionage. It is not an entirely happy combination. Moreover, the "espionage" aspect feels halfbaked and underdone : buried within "Sebastian", there's a sharper, tauter intrigue fighting to get out.
Still, I enjoyed the movie, partially because of its time capsule feel (the 1960's have rarely been so 1960's) and partially because of its unusual subject. It's rare to find a movie about cryptography, especially one which actually shows organized teams of people toiling at a solution. I also liked the fine, breezy musical score.
Here I would like to mention a point of special interest, to wit that the original screenstory for "Sebastian" was written by Leo Marks. This is a remarkable pedigree, since Marks was one of the more notable British cryptographers. A multi-talented man, he also wrote poems and stories. I wholeheartedly recommend his memoir, called "Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945". It's as spell-binding and moving as any fine work of fiction.
Now this movie straddles two genres, to wit romance and espionage. It is not an entirely happy combination. Moreover, the "espionage" aspect feels halfbaked and underdone : buried within "Sebastian", there's a sharper, tauter intrigue fighting to get out.
Still, I enjoyed the movie, partially because of its time capsule feel (the 1960's have rarely been so 1960's) and partially because of its unusual subject. It's rare to find a movie about cryptography, especially one which actually shows organized teams of people toiling at a solution. I also liked the fine, breezy musical score.
Here I would like to mention a point of special interest, to wit that the original screenstory for "Sebastian" was written by Leo Marks. This is a remarkable pedigree, since Marks was one of the more notable British cryptographers. A multi-talented man, he also wrote poems and stories. I wholeheartedly recommend his memoir, called "Between Silk and Cyanide: A Codemaker's War 1941-1945". It's as spell-binding and moving as any fine work of fiction.