Victory

Victory (1995) Most people have heard of this Joseph Conrad novel but few have seen this very good movie based on that novel, set in the Dutch East Indies of 1914. Since it is an English /French /German co-production it apparently didn’t get shipped to these shores in great quantity or for a long time period as most people I talked to had not heard of it. Starring Willem DeFoe, Sam Neill, Rufus Sewell and Irene Jacob, it is the story of a hermit living on a small island who befriends and saves a female violin player in a white slaver orchestra. (Got your interest now?) Neill plays the opium addicted evil poof who snakes into the apparent Eden of DeFoe and Jacob. Sewell is his cohort in nastiness and the ever popular Hu Yi (who?) plays the all wise Chinese manservant. Throw in a malevolent overweight South American slob and a tribe of hostile natives and you have a perfect setting for an enjoyable movie. Beautifully shot in Indonesia, it is a tad slow moving for those under 40 and tries to delve into the inner workings of many of the characters, difficult to do in film. Most of the characters have a bit of baggage hanging on to them so you are not quite sure if everyone is playing on the up and up or if Sam Neill’s character is playing with a full deck. The flick also takes a slightly jaundiced view of what passes for human nature. Overall, an excellent pick for a weekend rental and you can even tell your intellektual friends you watched this movie. The movie is rated R for: DeFoe buns, Jacob buns and orbs, knife in hand, sleazy Victorian people, small trains, and large Germans.