Production Year: 2006 - Drama - Director: Laurent Cantet - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Louise Portal, Karen Young, Charlotte Rampling more
Laurent Cantet's feature film stars Charlotte Rampling and is set in 1970s Haiti. The film examines a time and place in which wealthy women from the east headed to the country in... more
Ellen and Sue three North American women look for flirtation relaxation and respite from their mundane jobs and marriages. They find exactly what they are loo...
Heading South
On the sun-drenched island of Haiti at the end of the 1970s, tourists idle away their ... more
vacations in the palm-fringed paradise of the beach hotels. Brenda, Ellen and Sue, three North American women, converge on the island looking for flirtation, relaxation and respite from their mundane jobs and marriages. They find exactly what they are looking for in Legba, an enigmatic local Adonis-like boy, whose beauty and passion captivates them all and who leads them away from the gilded cage of tourism and opens their eyes to the poverty and dangers of living in Haiti in the midst of the Baby Doc Duvalier dictatorial regime.
Production Year: 1981 - Drama - Director: Franco Zeffirelli - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over - Starring: Brooke Shields, Martin Hewitt, Shirley Knight, Don Murray, Richard Kiley, Penelope Milford, Beatrice Straight
Production Year: 2004 - Drama - Director: Nick Cassavetes - Original Language: English - Classification: 15 years and over, 12 years and over - Starring: Rachel McAdams, Ryan Gosling, Gena Rowlands
A review by GoFigure on Heading South (DVD) February 22nd, 2007
Author's product rating:
Did you enjoy it?
Indifferent to it
Story
Good
Characters / Performances
Weak
Special Effects
Unmemorable
How does it compare to similar films?
Weak
Advantages:
An attempt at romance . . .
Disadvantages:
that has totally missed the mark .
Recommend to potential buyers:
no
Full review
This movie takes a long look into the goings-on at resorts situated in poor countries... it's the story of a woman who, many years earlier, befriended a young black child during a holiday with her husband, and ended up molesting him. The boy was just that at the time... an innocent, starving child, with no money, no education and no future.
Many years later, the woman returns to the island seeking the young boy who has since become a man. He has become a male prostitute for lonely white women staying at this posh island resort...
The white woman has never been able to forget the young black boy... a touch of guilt, but more because she wants more. The young man, on the other hand, pretty much ignores her until he catches her dancing with his little brother... obviously he's upset, no doubt remembering what the woman did to him when he'd been his brother's age... and at this point you expect the young man to tell her where to go... but money wins out, and he accepts to be kept by her at the resort for as long as she stays there.
The white woman falls in love, but the young man does not truly return her feelings... his life is a shambles, he owes money to people, politics are unstable, and his future is more than bleak...
This is a slow-paced movie spoken in French and English, and although it may seem empty and pointless... it isn't.
What IS touching, perhaps even heart-wrenching, are the undertones... the things left unsaid, and the consequences following one woman's selfish moment of desire and lust. This movie forces you to look inside the world of those less fortunate, and to acknowledge the fact that those more fortunate will almost always seek to take advantage.
This is a movie with a message... but the mediocre acting, dull and bland scenery, and lack of direction let this movie down.
Advantages: exploration of another culture Disadvantages: lack of good DVD extras
The Film
A synopsis of this film is difficult without giving too much away, so, taken from the DVD description: Laurent Cantet's feature film stars Charlotte Rampling (Ellen) and is set in 1970s Haiti. The film examines a time and place in which wealthy women from the east headed to the country in search of sexual fulfilment among its young male population.
From the opening scenes, this film will have you hooked, or at the very least intrigued. ... ...from the chaos of the bustling city to a quiet oasis of calm in a small town in Haiti, where rich tourists come to enjoy themselves, and far away from the harsh realities of the native people who live there. Eventually though, due to the nature of the relationship between these young men and the wealthy women who are entertained by them, these two worlds become embroiled. The first beach scene when Brenda (Louise Portal) arrives, gives the audience ...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: very funny Disadvantages: one weak episode, over-priced, no extras
...Once again we head on down to South Park, Colorado for another dvd volume of episodes that feature lunacy that can only come from a cartoon environment. Volume 11 of the series features 4 episodes from the third series.
THE RED BADGE OF GAYNESS
-------------------------
It's time for the annual re-enactment of the Civil War in South Park. The boys have a bet on who will win even though it's a forgone conclusion. Although no one told Cartman this and soon things are taken one-step further as Cartman leads an army on a conquest of America fuelled by a lot of alcohol.
This is one of those episodes that just highlights the complete stupidity of the series and shows why Cartman is one of the best characters purely because he is brainless.
MR HANKEYS CHRISTMAS CLASSICS
-------------------------------
Mr Hankey celebrates...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Advantages: A decades worth of his best work Disadvantages: Could do with more extras
...A hugely enjoyable 4-DVD box set and a must for all Louis fans. Including:
WEIRD WEEKENDS: Porn, Head for the Hills,Swingers, Black Nationalism, Wrestling, South Africa,Thai brides, Gangsta Rap.
Plus : WHEN LOUIS MET: Jimmy (Saville), Paul and Debbie (Daniels and Magee), Chris Eubank, Ann Widdecombe,and the all time classic......THE HAMILTONS!!!!......also included Louis and the Nazis, Louis and the Brothel and TV Nation clips.
Louis uses his none- judgemental style to win over his subjects in most cases, allowing them to open up and expose their, eye-popping, cringeworthy, hilarious and blood boiling lives to the viewer. Louis' ability to contain his views is admirable, whilst slipping in the odd,brilliantly timed witty remark that has become his trademark over a decade of broadcasting.
His time spent with Great British...
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Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful
Laurent Cantet's feature film stars Charlotte Rampling and is set in 1970s Haiti. The film examines a time and place in which wealthy women from the east headed to the country in search of sexual fulfillment among its young male population.
Languages
Main Language: English
Subtitle Language: English
Technical information
Special Features: Theatrical Trailer, Director Commentary, Director Shorts
Aspect Ratio: 1.85 Anamorphic Wide Screen
Sound: Dolby Digital 5.1
Professional reviews
Review: Rampling delivers a convincing portrait of a fiftysomething woman still troubled by sex and love. But the bravest performance is Karen Young's as Brenda. (Sight And Sound, 08/09/2006)
Layered, contemplative....This is at its core a twisted menage a trois set against a menacing backdrop of brutal dictatorship. (Total Film, 08/09/2006)
Ciao
Listed on Ciao since : 12/08/2006
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