Victory Movie Review

Fairly pedantic and plodding, this period piece, set in 1913 in the Dutch East Indies (ah, I remember the Dutch East Indies...), this film has all the makings of a sultry romance (think The Piano) but never amounts to much more than a watery day-trip.

The convoluted story has a female violinist (Irène Jacob) shanghaied from her indentured servitude by a semi-wealthy island-dweller (Willem Dafoe). Naturally, the woman's owner becomes a bit miffed and sends some goons (including Rufus Sewell and Sam Neill in a rare bad-guy role) after them. Imagine the hijinks!

Eventually this culminates in an explosion of bloodshed, all courtesy of some of the densest characters I've ever encountered in the movies. And it seems like a terrible lot of fuss over a rather cold fish, by the way.

Overall, writer/director Mark Peploe's film is rather pedestrian and never generates much emotion for its hero (it's tough to root for perennial villain Dafoe in any role, isn't it?) or his struggle. He comes off as a droll, imperialist stooge, and his story couldn't be less compelling.