Product Details

• Actors: Colin Farrell, Stephen Rea, Alicja Bachleda
• Directors: Neil Jordan
• Format: AC-3, Closed-captioned, Dolby, Subtitled, Widescreen
• Language: English
• Subtitles: Spanish
• Region: Region 1 (U.S. and Canada only. Read more about DVD formats.)
  
• Aspect Ratio: 1.66:1
• Number of discs: 1
• Rated: PG-13 (Parental Guidance Suggested)
• Studio: Magnolia Home Entertainment
• DVD Release Date: September 21, 2010
• Run Time: 103 minutes
• Average Customer Review: 3.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (49 customer reviews)
• ASIN: B003SC9AVC
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #13,760 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)
  • #96 in Movies & TV > Blu-ray > Fantasy

Editorial Reviews

Ondine is the story of Syracuse, a simple fisherman who catches a beautiful and mysterious woman in his trawler nets. The woman seems to be dead, but then she comes alive before Syracuse's eyes, and he thinks he may be seeing things. However, with the help of his irrepressible daughter, Annie, he comes to believe that the fantastical might be possible and that the woman (Ondine) might be a myth come true. Ondine and Syracuse fall passionately in love, and just as it seems the fairy tale might go on forever, the real world intercedes.

Special Features:

• Making Ondine.
• HDNet: A Look at Ondine.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

69 of 71 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Explaining Happenstance with Mythology, June 14, 2010

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ondine (DVD)

According to the dictionary an 'ondine is a water nymph or water spirit, the elemental of water. They are usually found in forest pools and waterfalls. They have beautiful voices, which are sometimes heard over the sound of water. According to some legends, ondines cannot get a soul unless they marry a man and bear him a child. This aspect has led them to be a popular motif in romantic and tragic literature.' Another bit of background information that aids the viewer of this little rarity of a film, ONDINE, is the bit of folklore often referred to in the film - that Ondine is a 'selkie': 'In Irish folklore, there are many stories about creatures who can transform themselves from seals to humans. These beings are called selkies. The seals would come up onto rocks or beaches and take off their skins, revealing the humans underneath. There is no agreement among the stories of how often they could make this transformation. Some say it was once a year on Midsummer's Eve, while others say it could be every ninth night. Once ashore, the selkies were said to dance and sing in the moonlight. One of the most common themes found in selkie folklore is romantic tragedy. Selkie women were supposed to be so beautiful that no man could resist them. They were said to have perfect proportions and dark hair. They also made excellent wives. For this reason, one of the most common selkie stories is that of a man stealing a selkie woman's sealskin. Without her skin, she cannot return to the sea, and so she marries the human man and has children with him. She is a good wife and mother, but because her true home is in the sea, she always longs for it. In the stories, she ends up finding her sealskin that her husband has hidden, or one of her children unwittingly finds it and brings it to her. According to legend, once a selkie find her skin again, neither chains of steel nor chains of love can keep her from the sea. She returns to the ocean, usually leaving her children behind with their grief-stricken father'.

All of this information may seem redundant, but when a beautiful little film such as ONDINE, written and directed by the always excellent Neil Jordan, knowing the background helps support the manner in which the story is told and revealed. Syracuse (Colin Farrell) is a recovering alcoholic fisherman whose alcoholic wife has custody of his beloved daughter Annie (Allison Barry) who because of renal failure must be dialyzed frequently and spend her days in a motorized wheelchair while she awaits a kidney transplant. Syracuse focuses his life on Annie - until one day while fishing he brings up a beautiful girl in his nets, a frightened girl named Ondine (Alicja Bachleda, a brilliant Polish actress and singer from Mexico) who fears being seen by anyone. Syracuse protects and clothes her and secludes her in his dead mothers shack by the sea - until Annie discovers her, having researched everything she could fine at the library about the selkies. Annie decides Ondine is selkie who must bury her seal coat in the earth and thus gain seven years on land without having return to the sea. With this mixture of myth and reality the story moves along at a gentle pace: Syracuse frequents the priest (Stephen Rea) confessional (his only available semblance of an AA stabilizer in his small village), Annie and Ondine bond, Syracuse and Ondine fall in love (despite the myth's warning that every selkie has a husband), and the townsfolk begin to accept the strange happiness that has returned to Syracuse's heart. The plot then twists and the realities of the myth become known and the story progresses from a recreation of a mythical romance to the difficulties of a true romance.

The chemistry between Farrell and Bachleda and Farrell and Barry is extraordinary and palpable: they make the film sing. The haunting musical score is by Kjartan Sveinsson and the moody cinematography is by Christopher Doyle. Neil Jordan pulls all of these elements together into a film that will linger in memory - like the song Ondine sings. There have been novels, operas, ballets, and plays written based on this myth, but few capture its mystery the way this film does. It is a quiet little gem of art. Grady Harp, June, 10

23 of 24 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars If you have a romantic heart - go for this one!, June 24, 2010

By 

Gerard D. Launay (Berkeley, California) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Ondine (DVD)

So far, one of the two most enchanting movies I have seen this year is "Ondine." [The other enchanting movie is also from Ireland - the impossibly gorgeous animated film titled "The Secret of Kells"]. Ostensibly, "Ondine" is a film about a lonely post alcoholic fisherman who nets a beautiful woman from his boat and saves her life. She insists she wants to be isolated from the world, and the fisherman (Colin Farrell playing the role of "Syracuse") respects her wishes. Her mysteriousness leads him to wonder, and in telling his disabled daughter the story of the event, she imagines that he has captured a selkie - half woman/half seal. The reviewer Grady Harp gives an excellent overview of the selkie legend. Director Neil Jordan goes back to a theme he expertly explored in "The Crying Game" in which a lost man gets a second chance and finds spiritual renewal in a surprise relationship with a woman - or someone who resembles a woman. The chemistry between the male and female leads is palpable but understated - spoken in silences and eyes and gestures.


There are many elements that make this a truly wonderful film experience. There is a lovely soundtrack without overplaying Irish music...the misty Irish sea...the myth of the Selkie...the honest performances from all the principal actors and actresses. Ironically, the real find is Allison Barry as the young daughter with renal failure who is smart, curious, gutsy, and totally believable. She is a welcome change from the teenagers on Disney TV.

Naturally, the fisherman falls in love with the selkie and the obstacles to that romance fill the second half of the film. Stephen Rea gives a standout performance as an Irish priest who serves as a quiet listener to the fisherman's tale and helps guide him without being overly moralistic.

So for my vote - this IS the chic flic of 2010. The Minneapolis Star Tribune opined "Ondine is so good it hurts." I thoroughly enjoyed it. As a postscript, the song that the selkie sings is truly magical.

16 of 18 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Not quite what I was expecting., May 10, 2010

By 

M. Allen (Seward, Alaska) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Ondine (Amazon Instant Video)

I love Irish films and am a huge fan of Colin Farrell and Alicja Bachleda (fantastic in Sommersturm). Ondine is not groundbreaking but it is a nice story with some great cinematography, acting and wardrobes (I especially liked the various clothes that Alicja wore as they complemented her mysterious character). Ondine is not a fairy tale per se but rather a well done character drama that touches on irish mythology in a modern setting. Without giving too much away, I was expecting something along the lines of Secret of Roan Inish (which it's really not) but in the end I was pleased. I would recommend to anyone who enjoys a good irish flick.