![]() ![]() And to top everything, performances are superb. And ending up in the Galapagos Islands is a real treat, it's the first film ever allowed to shoot in that ecologically delicate location. It draws us into this world so seductively, so convincingly that for a couple of hours we are living history. But the real achievement of the film is that there is never any sense of self-consciousness in its creation of another era. The drama comes from the delicate depiction of the psychology of men, the hubris, the cowardice, the heroism, the humour. The men respect Aubrey and even Maturin's misgivings about Aubrey's decisions are mildly expressed. ![]() This superb recreation of lives lived 200 years ago in quite extraordinary circumstances has some stunning action sequences in the sea battles, which look like classic paintings come alive, and in the rounding of the Cape during a storm, but the drama on board the Surprise is muted. But you never forget that you are at sea, enclosed in a world that is both comforting and vulnerable. En route there are convivial dinners and tales of the great Admiral Nelson and some musical moments. He decides to give chase and follow the Acheron around Cape Horn. His great friend, the ship's doctor and naturalist Maturin, Paul Bettany, may disagree with him but Aubrey has a heightened sense of his own leadership and of his responsibility as captain. The French frigate is faster and better armed but Aubrey is determined to prevent French access to the Pacific. When his ship, the Surprise, is attacked by a French privateer, the Acheron, off the coast of Brazil Captain Jack Aubrey, Russell Crowe, retreats to tend his wounded men, bury the dead and refit his ship. His decision to adapt the naval stories of Patrick O'Brian was challenging because lovers of the novels know just how meticulous O'Brian was about details of life at sea during the Napoleonic Wars. We've had to wait five years for a new film from director Peter Weir. ![]()
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