Ondine is Neil Jordan‘s newest film, starring Colin Farrell, Alicja Bachleda, Alison Barry, Dervla Kirwan, Tony Curran and Stephen Rea.

Plot:
Syracuse (Colin Farrell) is a fisherman who leads a rather reclusive life, most of which is devoted to his daughter Annie (Alison Barry). But all of this suddenly changes when he pulls a mysterious young woman – Ondine (Alicja Bachleda) – out of the water. Annie is convinced that Ondine is a selk and soon, Syracuse half believes it, too.

Ondine tanked pretty hard, box-officewise – and I have no idea why. It’s a really sweet movie, a perfect modern fairy tale and it’s wonderfully shot. What more could you ask for?

I have to say that I just read a lot of reviews of the film because I wanted to figure out why it didn’t get a wider release/more attention in general. The reviews don’t provide much answer to that question, but now I can say that I disagree with most of the reviews I’ve read about this film on two points: One, I did like the ending, the way reality takes over and provides the darkness that is necessary for fairy tales – but yet, in the end, the magic wins out.

The second thing is Alison Barry: I thought that her character, Annie, was very well-written (precocious? yes. But I like that in a child), but Alison Barry herself didn’t blow me away. She has potential, but she’s not a child actor I’m in awe off.

But what most people seem to agree on, and I tell you, it’s absolutely true: Colin Farrell* gives a wonderful performance (and in the last few years he has shown a lot more caution with the choice of roles and that only works to his advantage), as does Alicja Bachleda. It was very nice to see Tony Curran and Stephen Rea again. And Dervla Kirwan is strong as Syracuse’s alcoholic ex.

Most impressive feature of the film – apart from the soundtrack by Sigur Rós – are its visuals. The cinematography by Christopher Doyle is perfect and the settings are beautiful. Together they really create an atmosphere of enchantment that is utterly brilliant.

Summarising: Watch it.

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*One of about three guys in the entire world who can pull off long hair. He really looks very nice in this film.