Reviews

Racism is implicit in this movie: the cast and crew must have smelt the coming rebellion against French colonial rule. All the Arab characters were played by Europeans, albeit the main Arab role, "Thank-you", was played by an Indian-Englishmen, who'd gone to Oxford, was probably the most educated person on the set. He seemed to be heavily made up, with skin darkening, which reminds me that the English in India sometimes referred to Indians as "blacks" (one of the nicer terms). There was one name in the cast, "Abdie", whom I cannot remember, who was played by "Massoud". Well, how did the audience like it? How did the audience react to little Jasmine and her brother with their donkey? How did these two "desert Arabs" come to speak English? Racism is a sort of romance, where at the end the romantic ones slaughter those about whom the romance is written. That's the plan, anyway. In actual life, usually it is the racist-romantics who get slaughtered, or at least lose their empires. Can we say that the plot, concerning an ancient Roman, "Marcus Manelius", a looter of a city of the other ancient empire in the region, Carthage, successor to Phoenecia, warns us of the fate of all empires? Is that the actual message of the movie with Van Heflin's gentle humor?

Just the fight scenes--I can see how it cost forty million dollars to make this movie, as the person from Ukraine said. Take "eastern style" martial arts and do it all with swords--can you imagine that? But the movie is also true to the spirit of Dumas. He wrote in the mid-1800's--the heart of the French revolutionary century. All of Europe had revolutions in 1848, and all were stifled by a reactionary elite. The movie subtly handles the role of Cardinal Richilieu--who is the famous bad-guy of the musketeer stories. It'll get your heart beating for the old red-white-and-blue--which is the color of the French as well as US flag.

I suppose there are two kinds of people, or two kinds of attitude. There are times when I want the world to go away and leave me in my daydream, and there are times when I want the world to come ask me to come out to play. This movie is asking the viewer to come out to play.

I think the movie makers, cast and crew, would accept my premise about the two attitudes, and they all agree it's better to come out and play than to daydream. They want to know why sometimes a person chooses to daydream--to be alone--to cling to shreds of experience--to wallow in the mud: and I think they have a good argument. Watch the movie. And, contrary to what the previous review might have led you to expect, I'd advise you to expect to be delighted.

I see from an internet search that Pat Conroy, an able novelist (I've read The Great Santini, which tells you all you need to know about the Marine Corps, good and bad) "fictionalized" his experiences as a teacher in writing "The Water is Wide". In the Hallmark production, his character is named Pat Conroy, so the "fictionalization" didn't go too far. Even with a Marine fighter pilot for a father (which is also referred to in "The Water"), Pat has a whole lot of brass for a brand new teacher, and he almost never loses his smug smile (which, come to think of it, I think would drive a Marine father crazy).

But I think that Conroy's characterization, or the portrayal by Jeff Hephner, or direction by John Kent Harrison, or all of the above, might be as true-to-life as the hero's name or his Marine fighter pilot father.

So, how could a teacher facing so many difficulties have an unfailingly smug smile? If he took the absolutely worst teaching job in the State of South Carolina, which absolutely no other teacher wanted, it would give him a certain confidence. They might still fire him, but he would know every step of the way that he was doing it for love. I know from my own experiences that that situation gives you a certain buccaneer confidence. Maybe I smile smugly like that a lot. I guess I have a right. If you have right on your side, and it's your only friend, I guess you have a right to tease people a little about what your secret is.