Elewis1195 First, this film is slow. They don't make movies like this anymore but if you like slow story telling, you might like it. I didn't. (SPOILER), this move doesn't have a happy ending and that's what I really didn't like about it. I like happy endings. I just do. Still, even though I saw this in my teens, and I watched it cause I caught a clip with nudity, I was a little curious and I stuck with it and it stuck with me, enough for me to write this bad review 20 years later.Some of the boys are mean, and while that might be accurate for boys at school (in fact, I know it is), it seemed a bit over the top to me. More cruel than necessary. Beyond that, the ending was unpleasant.It's strange to me to read all the positive reviews of this. I didn't enjoy it, nor did I find the "artistic" side of it made up for the unpleasantness or the slow pace. Others are welcome to disagree, but this isn't a film I'd recommend.

Harriet Deltubbo The script and direction meld into a strong movie. With charm and humor to spare, this film was among the top echelon of movies from 1976. The characters in this film have a lot of depth, and that makes all the difference. In the end, the audience gets a casserole of film elements and little of the satisfaction that comes from watching these types of movies. I guess if I was in a bad mood, this movie wouldn't be half as good, but I thought it to be enjoyable and would recommend it. This is a story about a place most people might not be able to conceive. It is a powerful film. Many scenes do not feel believable, but good performances help to enhance this story.

Coventry Ever since her husband passed away, the introvert but endearing widow Anne Osborne (Sarah Miles) raises her son Jonathan by herself. Life isn't easy, as Anne feels lonely and clearly needs male affection while her son dangerously gets hooked on the mildly unsettling ideas of a fellow school boy who proclaims to eliminate all adults. When the handsome and charismatic sailor Jim (Kris Kristofferson) arrives in town in his enormously impressive cargo-boat "Belle", Anne finds in him a new lover and Jonathan a new fatherly role model. But when Jim stays to marry Anne, Jonathan feels that he "betrays" the sea and plots a morbid vengeance. I expected a whole lot from "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea", actually. The unusual title as well as the oddly designed DVD-cover always appealed to me and, moreover, the story is adapted from the works of controversial Japanese writer Yukio Mishima. This notorious author, who literally shocked the world with his sudden suicide, wrote perverse tales and had an awkward interpretation on human psychology, and thus I was anticipating a slow-brooding melodrama that is disturbing and beautifully enchanting at the same time. Unfortunately the transition to a remote English sea-town setting and its depressed inhabitants isn't totally successful and, despite remaining to be a stylish & well-made film, "The Sailor..." miserably fails in terms of offering genuine shocks and sheer creepiness. Writer/director Lewis John Carlino hints at several controversial themes (like voyeurism, the Oedipus complex and "Lord of the Flies"-esquire ideas) but never really has the courage to translate them on screen. The two main plots, about the romance between the adults and the boys' peculiar descent into mental insanity, never conjunct like they should, resulting in a rather incoherent film that comes across as absurd and highly implausible. Although the DVD-box guarantees chills, the film sadly never becomes disturbing or even remotely frightening. Nonetheless "The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With The Sea" remains a curiously fascinating piece of 70's film-making, as the atmosphere is continuously compelling and the acting performances are convincingly emotional. Especially Sailor Jim's extended speeches about the mysteriously untameable sea are downright staggering. Because of his poetic monologues, the sea itself almost becomes an uncredited extra character and you willingly allow him to take you on imaginative journey around the world. Contrary to these mesmerizing sequences are the rather nasty and gratuitous images of the fascist children's cult relentlessly torturing animals in order to revolt against the grown-up world. The supposedly 'startling' climax filmed on a beautiful hillside location overlooking the sea is painfully disappointing. Not having read the novel, I don't know whether or not it's supposed to end like this, but I found it to be an extremely cowardly finale after building up to it so much.

georgiatim22 I saw this movie when it came out. With no advance info, I was entranced with the story, the beauty of the countryside and village. It proved to be a powerful story, great love story, finally ending in a dreadful surprise outcome. Very psychological story and character study. Watch it, you will be rewarded.Life in the village provided many interesting cameos. A story of how wrong things can go, even in a peaceful Welsh seaside area. Deep feelings from a traumatic loss of a father cause the young boy to develop an unhealthy way of coping with his mother and her new friend. Frightening, beautiful, complicated and well worth a view.