Evelyn (Maya Stange) is an independent, modern young woman. She marries her anthropology professor and together they go to an island in Papua New Guinea for a field research that will last about a year. There are some other white people on the island – some missionaries and a pearl trader named Mick Carpenter (Rufus Sewell), who seems pretty sure the newlyweds won’t last in this savage land.
Her husband (Martin Donovan) Philip is an ambitious man who believes in the novelty of their mission. He also tends to see his wife as his assistant, rather than another fellow anthropologist.
However, Evelyn has no intentions of backing down- she conducts her own research and makes her own connections with the natives. This causes trouble in their marriage and the natives seem to like Evelyn much more than her husband.
Mick is amused by Philips’s self-righteousness and impressed by Evelyn’s determinations and independence. Mick also happens to be complete opposite of her husband in every possible away and Evelyn might be more intrigued by this handsome trader than she should be…
And let’s not forget the time is pre-Word War II…
It is the perfect epic story. The love story is passionate, emotional, exciting but never over-the-top or cheesy. It is never disguised as a twist or something. The poster features Rufus Sewell and Maya Stange together and as soon as the movie starts, Evelyn talks about pearls and meeting another man…
Pros:
– You have the well-structured conflicts.
– Beautiful scenery
– A great love story
– Good actors. Both Maya Stange and Rufus Sewell are amazing.
Cons:
– Much shorter than 2 hours, it leaves you wanting for more…
Directed and co-written by Bill Bennett in 1999.
A solid 8.5 or 9/10.
Enjoy the on-set Rufus Sewell interview: In a Savage Land
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cmyHfWVRnSo[/pro-player]
I hope they don’t remove it but the movie is on youtube. Here is the link to the first part.
You start watching here:
[pro-player width=’530′ height=’253′ type=’video’]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E8oqfkL_Yis[/pro-player]
I stumbled on this movie and had high expectations and was very disappointed. There were so many thing that did not make sense at all. From a husband letting his wife go for months in a jungle and never visiting or contacting her. to his funeral where she seemed to care deeply mourning him for what seemed like at least a month with what seemed like her going out of her mind, but never showed anything feelings or emotions towards him throughout the film. It just did not add up. The the love story was in high gear then non existent for long stretches of the movie. In fact he at sometimes did not even seem to care about her.
– about the husband: I agree that month of mourning seemed excessive, but if you think about it- she did love him when they first met. He was smart, respectable,older. He was her teacher. But the modern man in the classroom turned into an old-fashioned, sexist prick during their time in the jungle. Remember? He cared about his research, and not hers. He practically asked her to be an ornament, and got mad when she didn’t.
I think that mourning process was more out of respect for the locals, as for the good times before the jungle than for her current feelingd for him. It was stupid and unnecessary, but if you think about it not many sane people are OK with living in the middle of nowhere…..
– about the true love: He loved pretending like he didn’t care, but he always did. You wouldn’t expect him to fight a war with the locals, but he did. You wouldn’t think he was the sort of guy who’d tak care of a woman who willingly chose to live in a cage…but he did. He just wasn’t used to showing his caring side until she came along.
I agree that some parts of the movie could be done better, but all in all, I really liked the story and how it was told. But I also love it when Rufus Sewell plays the lead and not the bad guy:)