|
Swept From The Sea
Comfort in the Storms of Life
No pessimist ever discovered the secret of the stars, or
sailed to an uncharted land, or opened a new doorway for the
human spirit. ~Helen Keller
Amy's life is lonely and she lives in almost complete
silence, obeying the wishes of the family she works for in a
coastal village. She is captivated by the sea and collects
treasures that float up on the beach near her secret
hideout/cave. For the first part of the movie, she seems to be
living in a dream world. While some think she is a simpleton,
others think she is a witch who can conjure storms. She has a
gentle, patient, malleable nature.
Often Amy (Rachel Weisz) is found dancing in the rain or
standing in a window letting the wind and rain drench her
clothes. She is a child of the water and loves the rain, rivers
and the ocean. She seems to drift from reality into fantasy as
she twirls in the rain. In fact, it seems she dreams her true
love into life. She seems to be calling to him from the cliffs
of Cornwall.
Yanko (Vincent Perez) arrives in Amy's village and changes
her life. He is the only survivor of a shipwreck. He finds
himself in a foreign land with no way to communicate with the
residents. They fear strangers and almost kill him a few times
before they allow him to live a normal life.
Amy seems to be a naturally kind and compassionate Pices. She
also seems to be in love with Yanko from the moment they gaze at
one another through the kitchen window. Like two trapped animals
set free, they run to each other whenever possible and share a
secret world only they understand.
"I'm your home and you're mine." ~Yanko
While both Yanko and Amy seems to live at a higher level of
existence, you might be shocked by the downright cruelty of many
of the villagers. There is a sharp contrast between those who
are accepting of Yanko and those who are willing to shun even
those who talk to Yanko. Amy not only faces distain because of
her quiet manner, she is also hated because she welcomes Yanko
into her life. She accepts him like a gift from the sea.
James Kennedy (Ian McKellen) realizes he is one of the
Russian emigrants from a recent shipwreck while the rest of the
village views him more cautiously. James doesn't seem to know
the full story and the wounds are only healed by retelling the
story to Yanko's former employer.
At times this movie borders on cinematic extravagance. The
widescreen edition is stunning in places. Scenes of Amy dancing
in the rain in a blue haze, horses pulling carriages across vast
expanses of land, trains, seascapes, ships and an abundance of
lush scenery at the edge of the ocean.
Being a lover of the ocean myself, I rather liked this movie.
Not only is the scenery gorgeous, the score is dramatic,
romantic, filled with longing and almost torturous in places.
Swept from the Sea is a story of two people who have a
connection to the ocean and who understand one another on the
deepest levels of the soul. Most of what goes on in this movie
seems to go on in your own mind. Yanko and Amy seem to almost
speak to one another telepathically. At times it is pure magic!
The Surfer Spirit
Surfing as a Dance with Nature, April 3, 2007
"I want to remind people of the power they have when they
tap into their passion, and feed and nurture their unique
spirit." ~ Cynthia Derosier
With page after page of shimmering liquid playgrounds, "The
Surfer Spirit" invites you into a world of surfer
meditations to convey insights born of a love of surfing. This
is a book for surfers and non-surfers because the message helps
to build self-esteem and leads the reader back to a deeper
understanding of their true self.
Cynthia Desroisier is a surfer who sees a connection between
surfing and the choices we make in our daily life. As she says:
"I rise to life's challenges." With Co-Writer, Tim
Anderson, she also writes with a sense of poetic perfection when
she explains the spiritual aspect of surfing:
"We who surf
Live life out
Breathe life in
And pray in our own way
Our boards and bodies are
instruments improvising
The sweet songs of our souls."
The photography in "The Surfer Spirit" is especially
fascinating and beautiful. The images truly capture the
excitement of surfing and Jeff Devine and John Bilderback's
photographs are spectacular with a sparkling crystalline beauty.
A Surf Safari to Iceland, World Surfing in Indonesia, Pipelines
in Hawaii and Beach Haven, New Jersey are all featured. Beaches
of lavender waves rolling into shore contrast with a calm azure
stillness.
Cynthia Derosier's professional skills as an art director and
designer are evident throughout this beautiful surfing
experience. The cover is made with a natural-colored canvas
material and the pages are all printed with environmentally
friendly soy-based inks. The high quality art paper and a ribbon
bookmark make this a perfect gift.
A portion of the proceeds from this book also go to The
Surfrider Foundation to encourage care for the ocean
environment. The Surfrider Foundation also incorporates the
lessons from this book into a program to teach surfing, ocean
ecology and water safety.
Highly recommended as a book to treasure!
~The Rebecca Review
Surfer's Code
Surfing Inspiration, February 7, 2007
"This zone where waves give up their energy and where
systematic water motions give way to violent turbulence is the
surf. It is the most exciting part of the ocean." ~
Williard Bascom, Waves and Beaches
Surfer's Code is a beautifully designed book with a sturdy cover
and high-quality pages with stunning photographs of surfing.
World-Champion Surfer Shaun Tomson presents his wisdom from the
surfing community and translates what he has learned into
lessons you can apply to life on land.
The book begins with stories of his father and the beginning of
his surfing career. Shaun Tomson reveals the challenges and
rewards of surfing all while he focuses on the wisdom gained
from his experience: "I learned to trust in all the steps
that have gotten me where I am. The result is that I feel better
about myself, and I have a lot of fun pushing myself into more
challenging situations." He also explains his ideas about
why:
I Will Catch a Wave Every Day
I Will Watch Out for Other Surfers
There Will Always Be Another Wave
All Surfers are Joined by One Ocean
If you love surfing than this is an essential read showing the
behind-the-scenes reality of a famous surfer. The creative
writing, quotes, exciting experiences and lessons learned make
this a fascinating mosaic of experience. Throughout his life,
Shaun Tomson has faced many challenges and he shares his
thoughts on life on land and in the ocean and creates lessons
you can take with you while facing your own challenges in life.
"I was flying along in almost complete darkness with the
wave breaking around me in slow motion. Suddenly the board
dropped back down onto the surface of the water, and I came
flying out of the barrel into daylight." ~ pg. 154
~The Rebecca Review
Pacific Coast Ocean Waves DVD
Relaxing Ocean Vistas with Melodic Piano Music,
September 24, 2016
If you love the ocean and lots of waves you will adore this.
Scenes of the Pacific Coast are accompanied by original melodic
and relaxing music, mostly piano. You can hear the wave sounds
along with the music. There are a few scenes of seagulls but it
is not overwhelming. One scene remains for quite some time as if
you were overlooking the ocean from a cliff and the seagulls are
flying around for a while. The birds definitely got my cat's
attention!
This DVD has scenes of powerful waves and also scenes of calm
settings where the water is not moving at all. The wide screen
camera captures the coastline in all its vast beauty. The colors
are luxuriously vibrant and almost velvety. Sometimes scenes
change faster, sometimes the camera moves ever so slowly from
the left or right without being shaky.
This is 59 minutes and I will say that once I watched it I
wanted to watch it again immediately. It was so relaxing and
beautiful. I felt like it ended too soon but fortunately it just
starts replaying itself automatically.
~The Rebecca Review
Broken
Paradise
Treasures from the
Sea
Sea Candle Set
Music to Love
|
