Pascali's Island takes place in 1908 on a Greek Island still in the possession of the decaying Ottoman Empire. This movie gave a very strong sense of place and time. It concerns three principal characters; Basil Pascali(Kingsley)--a spy for the Sultan, an English adventurer/swindler(Dance), and an artistic free-spirit(Mirren). In the end it is the story of three middle-aged people who had led lives of disappointment thus far. In the film their lives become intertwined at a critical moment for all of them. Although the film is small in scope the historical period of impending change in which it takes place underscores the longing in each of the characters to find more purpose in their lives. The story is built around Pascali's dilemma: Does he remain faithful to the Sultan who has been the center of his life so far, but who has never even acknowledged him, or does he take a chance with two people who he has come to care for, but cannot trust? The subtle but rich way in which Ben Kingsley portrays Pascali in his dilemma is very moving. Lastly, the music and over all mood created for this multi-layered and thoughtful film are perfect.
22 Reviews
A great movie having deep historical and psychological references...
ertanasan20 January 2003
I watched this movie with a great pleasure. In fact, as a Turk, I didn't feel degraded or insulted even though the Turkish pasha and other Turkish characters are presented as a narrow-minded members of a decayed political system. Because, it was not totally wrong.
Ottoman Empire, named as sick-man by European politicians, was just a few step away from death. During that time, it was fighting in several fronts, trying to deal with threats against him, but no luck, death was inevitable. Pascali's loyalty worth appreciation, but as the movie showed us, there was no such an authority to honor him.
This is a great historical movie having perfect psychological and historical references, and every single person who enrolled must be appreciated...
Ottoman Empire, named as sick-man by European politicians, was just a few step away from death. During that time, it was fighting in several fronts, trying to deal with threats against him, but no luck, death was inevitable. Pascali's loyalty worth appreciation, but as the movie showed us, there was no such an authority to honor him.
This is a great historical movie having perfect psychological and historical references, and every single person who enrolled must be appreciated...
another good film that never found an audience
mjneu5924 December 2010
The writer responsible for the schlock-shocker 'Fatal Attraction' takes an altogether different approach for his own turn as director, in an old-fashioned, anachronistic bit of foreign intrigue set on a small Aegean island during the last desperate days of the Ottoman Empire. Among the film's many virtues is one neglected in recent years: it actually tells a story, with a rich sense of time and place to help bring it vividly to life. Ben Kingsley is superb in the title role, playing a petty informer on an inconsequential outpost in the Sultan's crumbling empire, who becomes caught in the plots of various foreigners seeking adventure and opportunity during the heady, treacherous years just prior to World War One. The expatriates involved in his inevitable downfall (a metaphor, perhaps, for colonial politics at he time) include a beautiful Viennese aristocrat and a roving English archaeologist out to swindle the local Pasha. The story is simple, subdues and potent, with some unusually literate skullduggery making it a modest but memorable drama of trust and betrayal.
Under-rated romantic intrigue
pekinman17 March 2005
'Pascali's Island' could have been made specifically by and for the Greek tourism bureau. The cinematography is so utterly gorgeous as to make this film self-recommending. If you are an addict of the Greek Isles then this film is a must-have for those long winter- evenings in the upper Midwest, or where-ever your winters are spent, when you need to see shimmering Dodecanese seas and opalescent sunrises and dazzling, golden sunsets. The views of the azure sea set between the white-washed houses on Symi and Rhodes, where this film was shot, are enough to make one give up the unequal battle and retire immediately to some beach-shack on one of those stunning islands.
Added to the glorious photography is an especially beautiful score by Loek Dikker, a very fine composer who first came to attention with Verhoeven's early film 'The 4th Man'.
Moving beyond the travelogue attractions of this film there is the under-stated and touching romance of the character of Basil Pascali, wonderfully embodied by Ben Kingsley in what could be his finest work since 'Gandhi'. His is a sad little character, acting as a spy for the last Ottoman Emperor in the dying days of that great Empire. The Greeks are about to reclaim their land and Basil is facing a dark future, until Charles Dance happens on the scene. Any further comment on their activities would spoil your first-time viewing so I'll stop. Dance is very good, as is Helen Mirren as the beautiful and decadent Viennese artist who is Basil's old pal and Dance's new love.
'Pascali's Island' is a subtle film, not for boys night out or the kids on a Saturday night. It's a thinking film set in a glittering location that creates a very pleasant marriage between eye and mind. Not so common a thing in the flicks these days when you come to think about it. That alone makes this repeatable viewing.
Highly recommended, especially to Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, Charles Dance and Greek Island fans.
Added to the glorious photography is an especially beautiful score by Loek Dikker, a very fine composer who first came to attention with Verhoeven's early film 'The 4th Man'.
Moving beyond the travelogue attractions of this film there is the under-stated and touching romance of the character of Basil Pascali, wonderfully embodied by Ben Kingsley in what could be his finest work since 'Gandhi'. His is a sad little character, acting as a spy for the last Ottoman Emperor in the dying days of that great Empire. The Greeks are about to reclaim their land and Basil is facing a dark future, until Charles Dance happens on the scene. Any further comment on their activities would spoil your first-time viewing so I'll stop. Dance is very good, as is Helen Mirren as the beautiful and decadent Viennese artist who is Basil's old pal and Dance's new love.
'Pascali's Island' is a subtle film, not for boys night out or the kids on a Saturday night. It's a thinking film set in a glittering location that creates a very pleasant marriage between eye and mind. Not so common a thing in the flicks these days when you come to think about it. That alone makes this repeatable viewing.
Highly recommended, especially to Ben Kingsley, Helen Mirren, Charles Dance and Greek Island fans.
Aggressively subtle.
deerwalkby5 December 2022
Many people are comparing this to an Agatha Christie story. There are many similarities between the two in the setting and characters. However the mood of the film is more "film noir". It's very watchable, there are beautiful views, lots of eye candy from Helen Mirren and Charles Dance, and Ben Kingsley is fascinating as usual. The portrayal of all that was going on in the Greek domains of the failing Ottoman Empire seems very accurate. But prepare yourself for the ending, there is sadness. Overall it's fun to watch, but I'm not sure I would watch it last thing in the evening. Might have some strange dreams.
Will the end of his world mean the end of his life?
mark.waltz19 February 2023
Warning: Spoilers
It may take patience to get into this psychological study of one man's journey downward, a spiral caused by his realization that his place in the world is not as necessary as he once thought it was. Ben Kingsley is very good in the title role as a man quiet on the surface whose secret life as a spy for who it turns out to be the last emperor of the Ottomans has always given him a cushy life. But the world was changing in the early 20th century, and empires were fading faster than the seasons. Kingsley's character is responsible for getting information to the emperor in regards to situations going on that may be threatening or new arrivals whose intentions are unknown. When he meets handsome Englishman Charles Dance he offers him the opportunity to be his guide and translator, and quickly becomes envious of him when the alluring Helen Mirren, whom Kingsley is obviously in love with, ends up as Dance's lover. A quick but curious scene has Kingsley entering into a Turkish bath where he is greeted by a young Greek boy, and the presumptions are pretty obvious as to what he is there for, having just seen Dance and Mirren swimming naked together in the sea.
With unrequited love bringing him down and the uncertainty of his future, it becomes obvious that the desperation of Pascali is the steps down towards his own fall, and these desperations have him becoming careless especially when Dance discovers just by chance through a vicious fall down a hill a long unseen ancient Greek statue. Their partnership is obviously filled with mistrust on both sides, and that is where the film begins to become stronger and its conflict, previously with the plot going in uncertain directions. This film is gorgeous to watch of course, and Kingsley never makes you see deep into this character which adds to the strength of the performance because he basically has no outward personality with his lack of verbal skills and an uncertainty of how to deal with situations he hasn't encountered before. It's complex and often perplexing and aggravating, but if you stick with it with a patient mind, little bits of it will come together here and there as the film goes on. Certainly this is going to be compared to Merchant Ivory films of the same time, but it is quite different in many ways. As an artistic film, it's great. But as a piece of entertainment, there's a lot to be desired even though with the sum of all of its parts, the rewards come when you least expect them.
With unrequited love bringing him down and the uncertainty of his future, it becomes obvious that the desperation of Pascali is the steps down towards his own fall, and these desperations have him becoming careless especially when Dance discovers just by chance through a vicious fall down a hill a long unseen ancient Greek statue. Their partnership is obviously filled with mistrust on both sides, and that is where the film begins to become stronger and its conflict, previously with the plot going in uncertain directions. This film is gorgeous to watch of course, and Kingsley never makes you see deep into this character which adds to the strength of the performance because he basically has no outward personality with his lack of verbal skills and an uncertainty of how to deal with situations he hasn't encountered before. It's complex and often perplexing and aggravating, but if you stick with it with a patient mind, little bits of it will come together here and there as the film goes on. Certainly this is going to be compared to Merchant Ivory films of the same time, but it is quite different in many ways. As an artistic film, it's great. But as a piece of entertainment, there's a lot to be desired even though with the sum of all of its parts, the rewards come when you least expect them.
Interesting but flawed...
sarahandmike14 July 2006
This could have been so much better. The story had great potential, the three leads are all fine actors (and all do decent jobs here), and the cinematography and period features are faultless. Sadly, the heavy melodrama detracts from what was meant to be the poignancy of the situation, and the music is oppressive and at times just ridiculous (particularly in the church scene, which plays like something out of a horror film).
Interesting in that many of the same faults attend "House of Sand and Fog" from about fifteen years later, in which Ben Kingsley plays a similar role.
Interesting in that many of the same faults attend "House of Sand and Fog" from about fifteen years later, in which Ben Kingsley plays a similar role.
Beautifully rendered
peedur29 June 2004
This has been a favorite film of mine for years, for many reasons. The setting is a heartbreakingly beautiful island in the Mediterranean, a distant part of the dying Ottoman Empire. The photography by Roger Deakins is superbly understated. While its quite spare, lacking the over-detailed lighting of, say, a Merchant Ivory period-production, it is undeniably soaked with the warmth and specificity of place, very much an Orientalist painting (rather like the book). There is an immediacy to the look and feel of the film which adds to its historical integrity.
The casting is brilliant; all the characters appear sculpturally archetypal. Ben Kingsley is superb as Pascali, inhabiting the doomed, lonely, character completely. His emotional monologue/prayer to the sultan near the beginning and which ends the film are intoned like music. Helen Mirren is perfect as Pascali's friend, muse and as his unattainable virtue, the source of his fevered longing. Charles Dance (who always appears larger than life, even on film) is excellent as the archeological con-man who stumbles over something pure and is trapped by it. Steffan Gryff wields an immortal, cunning profile and along with Nadim Sawalha as the Pasha, behave and look like the Ottoman Empire's corruption made flesh.
The story is a seductive mix; a gorgeous setting blended with serious melancholy, punctuated by a minor adventure and all informed by a clear respect for history. Its a small story (as emotionally guarded stories invariably feel) but its a terrific film.
Pascali has watched, spied and reported his whole life for masters who are doubtless unaware of his existence at all. As this is slowly dawning on him he is suddenly swept up in an minor intrigue which crystalizes all of his wishes and hopes. He sees a chance for personal renewal, but to achieve it he has to overcome instincts developed from a lifetime of deceit in a petty, corrupt outpost of a dying empire.
Recommended highly.
The casting is brilliant; all the characters appear sculpturally archetypal. Ben Kingsley is superb as Pascali, inhabiting the doomed, lonely, character completely. His emotional monologue/prayer to the sultan near the beginning and which ends the film are intoned like music. Helen Mirren is perfect as Pascali's friend, muse and as his unattainable virtue, the source of his fevered longing. Charles Dance (who always appears larger than life, even on film) is excellent as the archeological con-man who stumbles over something pure and is trapped by it. Steffan Gryff wields an immortal, cunning profile and along with Nadim Sawalha as the Pasha, behave and look like the Ottoman Empire's corruption made flesh.
The story is a seductive mix; a gorgeous setting blended with serious melancholy, punctuated by a minor adventure and all informed by a clear respect for history. Its a small story (as emotionally guarded stories invariably feel) but its a terrific film.
Pascali has watched, spied and reported his whole life for masters who are doubtless unaware of his existence at all. As this is slowly dawning on him he is suddenly swept up in an minor intrigue which crystalizes all of his wishes and hopes. He sees a chance for personal renewal, but to achieve it he has to overcome instincts developed from a lifetime of deceit in a petty, corrupt outpost of a dying empire.
Recommended highly.
Criminally under-rated
deason20 December 2020
Wonderfully made, deeply involving
Sometimes you just take a punt on watching a randomly selected movie, maybe because of the cast or the setting or the image on the poster. You go into the cinema (or switch on the tv) with no expectations and almost no knowledge about what you're going to see. Perhaps this is the perfect way to begin watching a movie, letting you set out on a journey of discovery with no more idea of what the characters are in for than they themselves have.
This was the case for my viewing of this. With no preconceptions, I was receptive in turn to the political, historical, philosophical, romantic and tragic strands that are woven into this marvelous Turkish carpet of a movie.
The performances of the main cast and the layered depths of their characterisations are magnificent. While the photography, music and art direction are all impeccable, convincing and skilled, they all support the story.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the low rating out of ten on the website, but it's a pity if it prevents people from discovering this rare and buried artistic masterwork from long ago...
Sometimes you just take a punt on watching a randomly selected movie, maybe because of the cast or the setting or the image on the poster. You go into the cinema (or switch on the tv) with no expectations and almost no knowledge about what you're going to see. Perhaps this is the perfect way to begin watching a movie, letting you set out on a journey of discovery with no more idea of what the characters are in for than they themselves have.
This was the case for my viewing of this. With no preconceptions, I was receptive in turn to the political, historical, philosophical, romantic and tragic strands that are woven into this marvelous Turkish carpet of a movie.
The performances of the main cast and the layered depths of their characterisations are magnificent. While the photography, music and art direction are all impeccable, convincing and skilled, they all support the story.
I guess I shouldn't be surprised at the low rating out of ten on the website, but it's a pity if it prevents people from discovering this rare and buried artistic masterwork from long ago...
Incredible little movie!
artzau31 December 2002
There's nothing wrong with this film. Everything in it works. The story, one of frustration experienced by the principle character, the one and only Sir Ben Kingsley in the title role, playing a rather inept informant in an incompetent political system, the Ottoman Empire, in the days before the "Great War," WW1, is solid and poignant. The presence of supporting actors like Charles Dance and Helen Mirren, both great Brit actors round off a delightful movie that is worth seeing again and again.
This is the story of a man who was forgotten by his god.
Gretta-228 October 1999
In a finely-crafted and beautifully filmed story, three people meet who are engaged in deceptions of different sorts. Each one is acting in secret, yet all three find themselves thrust into the very center of their deceptions by ironic twists. Each fences with the other romantically, yet the most cynical actually fall in love. Excellent performances by Kingsley, Charles Dance and Helen Mirren, three of England's most talented and versatile actors. Exotic scenery sets the stage for a variety of passions, schemes and deceits. Mirren and Dance are spectacular, in the love scenes especially, but Ben Kingsley dominates this film. His dark eyes mirror dwindling hope in his sultan's dying world and his hopeless love for an untouchable, unreachable foreigner.
A delicious movie
inframan21 July 1999
Twilight Of A World
quatloos17 July 2001
As schoolchildren we hear the terms World War "I" and "II" -- and then spend the rest of our lives learning why it was called WORLD war. The story is set in the Aegean on the eve of World War I when so many nations lusted to flash their sabers and sound their canons. Ben Kingsley brilliantly plays "Pascali," a bottom-ranking spy for the Ottoman Empire that, after reigning for 900 years, is about to be annihilated by the war. The name "Pascali" is a reference to Judeo-Christian symbols of the paschal lamb, passover, and so forth, and the story incorporates the encounter between Muslim Turkey and the Greek Orthodox Church. Pascali longs for the attention of expatriate Lydia (Helen Mirren) who, being an Austrian, represents the impending war's crushing of the Austro-Hungarian Empire as well. Into the lazy sun drenched intrigue of Pacali's Greek island steps one Antony Bowles (a most poished Charles Dance). A failed archeologist turned world-traveling swindler-sophisticate, Bowles, in classic Anglic fashion, plays the Turks and Germans against one another. (The only thing missing, in terms of dynasties the "Great War" destroyed, is a reference to the Romanovs! But then, actress Helen Mirren is of Russian descent...hmmm.) Even the Americans are involved as distantly glimpsed (for they would not enter the war until 1917) arms merchants. Lest this all seem like a pretentious amount of historical intricacy, "Pacali's Island" is a modest set piece about a handful of people whose gods have deserted them or never heard their plaintive worshipping in the first place. The blinding glare of the Greek Islands is artistically wrapped like bleached gauze around a mood of sweat-and-ouzo-soaked melancholy. Mature, intelligent, and sensitive, this one requires the viewer to be wide awake. View it perhaps on a Sunday morning while the coffee is fresh. Take from it the line (that means nothing out of the movie's context)"The error of their ways." Quality film making!
Underrated movie
jhlean14 July 2006
A wonderful lesson in the art of trust, set in an equally wonderful Greek landscape. All performances are subtle yet interesting. Charles Dance is a very convincing cad in the old English tradition, while Ben Kingsly plays a faithful spy beginning to question that faith and his uncertain future. Helen Mirren is cast as an artist with sympathies for the Greek resistance movement fighting the Ottoman administration on the island. Cinematography is excellent with some enticing scenes of a perfect Greek Island town. Though the movie tackles some thought provoking themes of jealousy, trust and fear of betrayal it also works as low key thriller. A great pity this movie is not available on DVD.
everyday lives lost to history.
mymeister9 September 2021
The synopsis in imdb through me off! So I kept waiting for direction from his superiors
I really enjoyed this. It depicts a time and situation that is foreign to us westerners in its danger. I think it could have been smoother in terms of the American and German parts in the intrigue. Something seemed clunky there. And it ended a tragedy which was a nice change from the pap.
I really enjoyed this. It depicts a time and situation that is foreign to us westerners in its danger. I think it could have been smoother in terms of the American and German parts in the intrigue. Something seemed clunky there. And it ended a tragedy which was a nice change from the pap.
For the Orientalist in all of us
random-7077823 March 2019
Edit: Good news: It is now on amazon prime. Not so good news It is the version that has about 30 seconds containing the tasteful Mirren nude shots removed.
Review: Yes, the Western view of the decadent and sensual East is, to good degree, a set of biases. And anyone under 40 with a liberal higher education is going to see Helen Mirren as the quintessential odalisque, which is to say, object of the sin of the "male gaze." But still, let's face it, this film , while hardly flawless in execution, is just beautiful. Mostly beautifully shot, beautiful production design, stunning locations on Simi, mostly well scripted and with three perfectly casted talented actors. Ok, the direction had some intermittent problems, namely with the overwrought church scene, but that can be forgiven.
So we can be mindful of Orientalism and the male gaze and still enjoy the film immensely. Frankly I fell in love with Mirren at the moment of seeing this film for the first time and I don't care if it clashes with the modern. Ben Kingsley could have just stepped out of Cavafy's Alexandria. He executes the perfect Leventine (something that has disappeared with the loss of heterogeneity of cosmopolis in Istanbul, Beirut, Smyrna and Alexandria) . For historic context, we are at what looks to be 1905-10 or so, right on the cusp before the Balkan wars and WWI liberating many more Ottoman subjects on occupied area into self determined nation states. And Pacali is a subject, not a citizen. But while not a Turk he is also not a Greek, but rather his only place is as an Ottoman -- something that is about to disappear.
His speaking to the Porte (the immensely bureaucratic government in Istanbul), and to us, with his unanswered letters is just amazingly poignant.Just as he has unrequited love, his relationship with the Port is also unrequited. It is interesting that we become sympathetic to an informer for a tyranny. Kingsley also navigates the ambiguity in whether he is jealous of Dance attracting Mirren; or Mirren attracting Dance. Of course that is also part of the western view of the sensual east as well. Exactly who does Pascali really desire?
The film is now on amazon prime. It is a decent but somewhat grainy 1.75:1 with ok audio. It is the 143 minute and 42 second version, meaning it has about half a minute less than the R rated version on my VHS version, but is missing two scenes with upper frontal nudity (one closer shot of naked a Ms. Mirren before diving into water, and one of her post coital lounging). Those scenes were among the most natural and unforced nudity I have ever seen in film and it seems a crime to have then missing. Still though relatively good news for we happy few that love this film to see it appear on amazon digital video.
Review: Yes, the Western view of the decadent and sensual East is, to good degree, a set of biases. And anyone under 40 with a liberal higher education is going to see Helen Mirren as the quintessential odalisque, which is to say, object of the sin of the "male gaze." But still, let's face it, this film , while hardly flawless in execution, is just beautiful. Mostly beautifully shot, beautiful production design, stunning locations on Simi, mostly well scripted and with three perfectly casted talented actors. Ok, the direction had some intermittent problems, namely with the overwrought church scene, but that can be forgiven.
So we can be mindful of Orientalism and the male gaze and still enjoy the film immensely. Frankly I fell in love with Mirren at the moment of seeing this film for the first time and I don't care if it clashes with the modern. Ben Kingsley could have just stepped out of Cavafy's Alexandria. He executes the perfect Leventine (something that has disappeared with the loss of heterogeneity of cosmopolis in Istanbul, Beirut, Smyrna and Alexandria) . For historic context, we are at what looks to be 1905-10 or so, right on the cusp before the Balkan wars and WWI liberating many more Ottoman subjects on occupied area into self determined nation states. And Pacali is a subject, not a citizen. But while not a Turk he is also not a Greek, but rather his only place is as an Ottoman -- something that is about to disappear.
His speaking to the Porte (the immensely bureaucratic government in Istanbul), and to us, with his unanswered letters is just amazingly poignant.Just as he has unrequited love, his relationship with the Port is also unrequited. It is interesting that we become sympathetic to an informer for a tyranny. Kingsley also navigates the ambiguity in whether he is jealous of Dance attracting Mirren; or Mirren attracting Dance. Of course that is also part of the western view of the sensual east as well. Exactly who does Pascali really desire?
The film is now on amazon prime. It is a decent but somewhat grainy 1.75:1 with ok audio. It is the 143 minute and 42 second version, meaning it has about half a minute less than the R rated version on my VHS version, but is missing two scenes with upper frontal nudity (one closer shot of naked a Ms. Mirren before diving into water, and one of her post coital lounging). Those scenes were among the most natural and unforced nudity I have ever seen in film and it seems a crime to have then missing. Still though relatively good news for we happy few that love this film to see it appear on amazon digital video.
Appreciative Viewer , Small Obscure Film
Halfbright4 June 2005
I have admired Ben Kingsley ever since I saw GANDHI , and have followed his career with curiosity . Kingsley is the classic " character actor " , rather short and ethnic - looking and seldom cast in the lead therefore . ( Tom Cruise , also short , is the exception to the rule . ) Kingsley is so outstanding a performer , he makes his portrayals look easy , which I observe of just a handful of actors . PASCALI ' S ISLAND is terrific - - nostalgic , poignant , exquisitely filmed and acted . I got to see Helen Mirren for the second time ( I ' d previously seen her in THE MOSQUITO COAST ) and I was plenty surprised to see her in the buff . The film addresses the history of the Ottoman Empire ( now Turkey ) at the time of World War One , about which young people know lamentably little .
Highly Underrated Film
cwaltraudz24 August 2017
I loved this film when it came out. It was the same period as other great romantic period films like A Room with a View. I've just recently watched it again after finding a bad VHS tape in a used bookstore and I'm so disappointed it can't be streamed on Amazon or Netflix.
Everything about this film is intriguing from the political/historical aspect to the archaeological story. (It's particularly relevant today as it's about the fall of an empire; in this case, the Ottoman Empire.)
Charles Dance, Ben Kingsley and Helen Mirren are all at their very best. Something must have a gone amiss when the film was released, as it never caught on as it should have in spite of the good reviews. Perhaps the timing of the release was off.
Pascali's Island has truly one of the most devastating endings I've ever seen in a film. It would never survive audience testing in today's overly calculated Hollywood. That's why it's a great film. They don't make them like this anymore.
Everything about this film is intriguing from the political/historical aspect to the archaeological story. (It's particularly relevant today as it's about the fall of an empire; in this case, the Ottoman Empire.)
Charles Dance, Ben Kingsley and Helen Mirren are all at their very best. Something must have a gone amiss when the film was released, as it never caught on as it should have in spite of the good reviews. Perhaps the timing of the release was off.
Pascali's Island has truly one of the most devastating endings I've ever seen in a film. It would never survive audience testing in today's overly calculated Hollywood. That's why it's a great film. They don't make them like this anymore.
Even though this is not set in 1930's England, Hercule Poirot fans would love it.
tomgoblin-446208 February 2021
It is set in a long ago time. A world that no longer exists.
It is not the same place and it is not the same time of Christie and the later Noir writers but so many attractive and fascinating elements are the same. Not to omit the fine acting and dynamic actors.
The plot twists and turns but the viewer never has to lose his way. Good writing throughout.
Aside from the film itself, it is good to see the bulk of revues be so honest.
I pointed out echoes of Agatha Christie but, I also saw a touch of Raymond Chandler and John LeCarre' One reviewer said "timeless". These are timeless themes
A heart-breaking and surprising ending awaits. Watch closely. Watch closely.
A small, yet polished, gem of a movie..
It is not the same place and it is not the same time of Christie and the later Noir writers but so many attractive and fascinating elements are the same. Not to omit the fine acting and dynamic actors.
The plot twists and turns but the viewer never has to lose his way. Good writing throughout.
Aside from the film itself, it is good to see the bulk of revues be so honest.
I pointed out echoes of Agatha Christie but, I also saw a touch of Raymond Chandler and John LeCarre' One reviewer said "timeless". These are timeless themes
A heart-breaking and surprising ending awaits. Watch closely. Watch closely.
A small, yet polished, gem of a movie..
timeless movie
hwa-23 January 2020
Beautiful
rjun6713 August 2016
Warning: Spoilers
This film is a character study of the highest order, Channel 4 made many movies in the early 80's, most have been forgotten but some have become timeless, sadly this beautifully crafted piece seems to be included in the former. The acting and plot are top notch, and you find yourself engrossed in every aspect, from the gorgeous scenery to the intrigues of the time (when western Europeans were sitting by like vultures over a crumbling Ottoman empire). Charles Dance plays a ruthless English conman, but instead of hating his cold and aloof mannerism, somehow you find yourself being drawn to his way of thinking. Helen Mirren is as dependable as always, and Ben Kingsley, playing a double-dyed, almost treacherous, half Greek, spy for the Ottoman authorities, manages to repulse and sympathise in equal measure. A very satisfying movie.
Wonderful film
dan.adams20 December 2011
Warning: Spoilers
You can feel the heat in the cobbled streets.Fresh air seems to fill your lungs as you take in the stunning Med.What a setting for a subtle spy flick.Helen Miram does her thing-decadent as can be and a closet supporter of the "Cypress for the Cypriots" faction.Charles Dance is engaging as an Englishman who believes this fact will make a difference on Pascali's Island.Ben Kingsley is simply superb.A chap who,holds the fate of others in his hands.Does he drop the ball? Quite a few folk are not exactly what they seem and that is what makes the film. A lesson sorely learnt is,NEVER NEVER NEVER trust a bloke who is by trade,an informer!
See also
Awards | FAQ | User Ratings | External Reviews | Metacritic Reviews
