Film

What's on at the cinema plus reviews of the latest movie and DVD releases


The Oyster and the Wind (1997)

Director: Walter Lima Jr

Average user rating
No reviews

Movie review

From Time Out Film Guide

This reverie-cum-mystery (beautifully shot by Pedro Farkas) concerns the inhabitants of one of Brazil's remote Downed Islands - 'where the days go backwards and forwards like the waves' - populated only by a 60-year-old lighthouse keeper, his jealously guarded daughter Marcela, and a crew of sailors who bring provisions once a month. Unfolding through flashbacks (Marcela is played by three actresses), it's a tale of troubled sexual awakening, repressed passions and mysterious pasts, in which nothing is made explicit. Marcela's disembodied voice is invoked as one sailor reads her journal, conjuring up the story of the mysterious Saulo and 'The Idiot' boy Roberto - but what's truth? what fiction? A mature, distinctively directed work, oneiric and powerful, but also a touch warped and darkly obsessive.

Author: WH

Time Out Film Guide


What do you think?
Post your review now

clear rating
Min 1 star. Zero stars will be treated as unrated.

*mandatory fields





Top Stories

Ridley Scott interview

Ridley Scott interview

Director Ridley Scott tells Cath Clarke why he's making a science fiction comeback

Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report

Cannes Film Festival 2012: half-time report

Dave Calhoun reports on the hits, misses and a shocking new masterpiece from Michael Haneke

Wes Anderson interview

Wes Anderson interview

Cath Clarke talks to the director of Cannes's opening film

Open-air movies in London

Open-air movies in London

Cath Clarke rounds up this summer's crop of outdoor film screenings

The 100 best French films

The 100 best French films

In honour of Cannes, we reveal the best French films of all time

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach interview

Ken Loach talks to us about his Cannes Film Festival entry 'The Angels' Share'