ONDINE
BY CHRISTOPHER HASKELL
SEPTEMBER 23, 2010
Colin Farrell emerges in this contemporary, live-action interpretation of mermaid lore, playing a lonely fisherman named Syracuse. You know what you are embarking on within the film’s first ten minutes. The water scenery is captivating, the richness of the picture hooks you, and Syracuse reeling in an unconscious woman in his fishing nets prepares you for this emotional and unique dramatic undertaking.
Syracuse has a daughter, Annie (Alison Barry), living with liver failure, which warrants her the freedom to take liberties as our heart melts over her adorable nature and vast imagination. These liberties allow for the inference that Ondine (Alicja Bachleda), the woman from the nets, is a mermaid. Annie’s quest to prove herself right, as she power chairs her way around the small fishing community, adds to the captivation of the entire film.
“Ondine” is low-key, unworried about ruining the relaxed nature by muddying it up with useless suspense until the very shocking end of the film. No other movie has ever caused such a childish smile following its conclusion, causing a re-examination of the entire film. No matter how you approach “Ondine,” you can’t argue about Colin Farrell’s talent, and Alicja Bachleda’s emergence is fresh and brilliant. It is a vivid and unconventional catch in a sea of overpopulated films.
RELEASE DATE
June 4, 2010
DIRECTOR
Neil Jordan
WRITTEN BY
Neil Jordan
STUDIO
Paramount Vantage
PG-13
(for some violence, sensuality and brief strong language)
DRAMA
MYSTERY
ROMANCE
111 minutes
CINEMATOGRAPHER
Christopher Doyle
COMPOSER
Kjartan Sveinsson
EDITOR
Tony Lawson
CAST
Colin Farrell
Alicja Bachleda
Alison Barry
Dervla Kirwan
Tony Curran
Stephen Rea
Emil Hostina
PRODUCED BY
Ben Browning
James Flynn
Neil Jordan
BUDGET
$12 million
