Upon its release this was labelled by multiple critics as "undoubtedly one of the worst movies of the 70s", and around here quite a few reviews are extremely harsh as well. I can understand why people dislike it, though. I, too, find the film incredibly slow-paced, indecisive in terms of tone and atmosphere, and perhaps slightly overlong. And yet, overall, I found "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" strangely mystifying, deeply absorbing, and a lot more thought-provoking than any other movie I have seen lately. Bottom line, I disagree with the critics and cherish it dearly.
For starters, this is one of those really rare films where you absolutely can't guess what it's about when you avoid reading summaries or reviews. You can't derive anything from the title, and even up until halfway through the length you still don't have a clue where the story will be heading too. I sincerely hope you're reading this review AFTER you've seen the film already. The beautiful Ilse of Jersey filming locations, the hypnotizing music, and the devoted performance of Susan Hampshire all help making "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" a unique piece of poetry.
Anna is stuck in a marital crisis and fled to the Ilse of Jersey to sort things out. She falls head over heels in love with mysterious and philosophical lighthouse caretaker Hugh. She abandons everything for him, and they're happy for a while, but during a trip to Scotland Hugh suffers from a heart-attack and dies. Needless to say, Anna is heartbroken. So heartbroken that, the next night, Hugh returns to her. Is he a ghost? Is he a zombie? It doesn't matter for Anna since it's her love that keeps Hugh alive and they can be together again. But, how long and at what cost can you co-exist with a corpse?
It's the theme of many a horror movie. People cannot accept the death of a loved one and are prepared to sacrifice everything to bring them back. Whatever way they succeed, though, they always painfully find out that nobody returns as the same person. "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" is also categorized as horror for this reason, and once even appeared under the infamous video-label Redemption, but you'll be sorely disappointed if you expect decaying zombies or malignant ghosts. Gordon Honeycombe's novel and script purely focuses on the heartache of loss, the purity of true love, and the power of mind.
For starters, this is one of those really rare films where you absolutely can't guess what it's about when you avoid reading summaries or reviews. You can't derive anything from the title, and even up until halfway through the length you still don't have a clue where the story will be heading too. I sincerely hope you're reading this review AFTER you've seen the film already. The beautiful Ilse of Jersey filming locations, the hypnotizing music, and the devoted performance of Susan Hampshire all help making "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" a unique piece of poetry.
Anna is stuck in a marital crisis and fled to the Ilse of Jersey to sort things out. She falls head over heels in love with mysterious and philosophical lighthouse caretaker Hugh. She abandons everything for him, and they're happy for a while, but during a trip to Scotland Hugh suffers from a heart-attack and dies. Needless to say, Anna is heartbroken. So heartbroken that, the next night, Hugh returns to her. Is he a ghost? Is he a zombie? It doesn't matter for Anna since it's her love that keeps Hugh alive and they can be together again. But, how long and at what cost can you co-exist with a corpse?
It's the theme of many a horror movie. People cannot accept the death of a loved one and are prepared to sacrifice everything to bring them back. Whatever way they succeed, though, they always painfully find out that nobody returns as the same person. "Neither the Sea nor the Sand" is also categorized as horror for this reason, and once even appeared under the infamous video-label Redemption, but you'll be sorely disappointed if you expect decaying zombies or malignant ghosts. Gordon Honeycombe's novel and script purely focuses on the heartache of loss, the purity of true love, and the power of mind.