Tuesday 26 April 2011

Ondine






Ondine is an original and romantic Irish film starring Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda, which places Irish mythology into a contemporary setting. Farrell plays a fisherman called Syracuse who one day pulls up a woman in his fishing net, but she is rather mysterious and evasive and leaves Syracuse guessing about her true identity; she only tells him that her name is Ondine, which means 'of the sea'. And strangely enough she seem to bring him good luck as his fishing nets become full when she sings. His little girl Annie starts to think that she is actually a selkie, a seal lady of Celtic myth who can temporarily become human if she hides her seal coat, but must eventually return to the sea. Ondine moves in with Syracuse, who falls for her even though he is somewhat wary of her secret identity, and along with Annie they carry on like a normal yet somewhat-dysfunctional family. However, when a mysterious man arrives in town searching for Syracuse's mysterious selkie it seems as though his run of fairy-tale luck is over.

What I liked about Ondine is that I didn't know too much about it, and although the plot is simple it doesn't give too much away and leaves you guessing about Ondine's true identity; Who is really? Where is she from? Is she a real mermaid? I couldn't work it out personally and throughout the film I was left arguing with myself, because the film has a realistic setting and it would be quite a challenge for the film-makers to make it convincing if Ondine was a real mermaid, but if she wasn't then who is she and how did she end up being caught up in Syracuse's net? Although it sounds like a frustrating watch it really isn't, it is quite a joyful and serene film and I thought it was worth the personal battle about what was going on as I wasn't disappointed by the end. But the result is not the only reason why the film is worth watching; Alison Barry who plays Annie in particular is a super sweet actress and she really shines in this film, and she brings all the mythology into the film and it is sweet how Ondine plays along with her theories that she is actually a selkie. Also the location is just beautiful, it made me want to go to Ireland and stay in a little peaceful fishing village like where Ondine is set. But that is enough of what I wanted to say about the film because some films I think you just need to watch without much knowledge and just see where the film takes you; Ondine is one of those films which I highly recommend if you want something a little unique and different


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