A Swiss family hoping to start a new life in New Guinea after Napoleon invades France become shipwrecked along the way on a deserted island. They quickly adapt to their new life, building a tree house, making friends with the animals and spending the days having fun. Two of sons whilst surveying the islands coast rescue a girl from pirates. The families life is once again turned around, if it's not the boys fighting over the girl then the pirates coming back for their hostage.
I have just finished reading the book on actor Sessue Hayakawa that I mentioned in previous posts so was quite lucky to see this film again as he appears as the pirates captain. Like the previous film i saw Three Came Home, it's not one of the films he's most famous for.
The film is very enjoying to watch however outdated. The family's carefree attitudes to the local habitants is something you wouldn't see in most Hollywood films today. Treating them almost like toys, the animals are either ridden on or roped up for labour work. These scenes remind me alot of Ki-duk Kim's Bom yeoreum gaeul gyeoul geurigo bom (Spring, Summer, Autumn, Winter... and Spring 2003), where the young boy ties a fish, frog and a snake each to a stone laughing at their struggles. The main difference there though is that the boy is soon punished for his attacks by his adoptive father, a Buddhist priest. The obvious problem that in Swiss these actions go unresolved, but then wouldn't as they are treated as it isn't a problem but just childplay. How times have changed.
Despite this it is a very fun family film. One shot of the very attractive Janet Munro
as 'Roberta' stood out for me:
It looks a shot straight out of an exploitation film, turn this film around a little, make it for adults and it could easily be one.
1 comment:
Hey, there..it's been 11 years sicne the last post, so I don't knwo if the administrator is alice anymore, but haven't seen SWDF for a longitme, have harbored a huge criush on Janet Munro (RIP,1934-1972) since the 70s.SC
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