Customer Reviews

Pearl Diver

5 star:		(2)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Winner of Best Feature Film at the East Lansing Film Festival among a host of other festival awards, Pearl Diver is a DVD that blends elements of a family drama with a tragic murder mystery. When two sisters lose their mother to murder, the loss haunts them for twenty years - until a farming accident uncovers the sense of trauma they have kept hidden since that horrific night. Yet hope can be found in facing the truth despite its most terrible realities, in this singularly powerful, emotionally moving feature. 97 minutes.

This is beautifully photographed in Goshen, Indiana, and the story is compelling enough and certainly original. You just have to stick with it for a while as it starts off very slowly and doesn't ever pick up a lot of speed. Then again, it's not an action movie. The acting is tolerable, with two adult sisters diverging on how to remember their murdered mother and deal with the tragic farm accident that befalls the daughter of one of them.
Some flaws: A lot of the dialogue is repetitive. Also, spoilers ahead.......








The ending disappoints me as writer. I would not have tossed my hard work away like that. The character could have used a pseudonym and published it as fiction in order to spare others' feelings instead of just chucking it all wastefully.

Pearl Diver (2004) is a beautiful, thoughtful, moving, involving and uplifting movie about two sisters who used to be very close in their childhood on the rural farm where they grew up in a Mennonite community. One tragic night, their mother was murdered by two intruders who tried to find something in their house. The girls' lives were changed forever. That night took them apart, and only twenty years later when another tragedy strikes, the sisters begin to unravel the mystery of old trauma. This is the film debut by writer /director Sidney King. He's got his own style in telling the story and creating and exploring interesting complex characters, not loud and flashy but clear, distinguished, and very attractive. I am especially pleased to see in one of the important roles the famous Russian stage and screen actor, Eugene Lazarev. His character provides the necessary depth to the story, he is a keeper of history and he holds the key to the mystery of what could be the reason for past tragedy that put the long shadow to the lives of the girls and their relationship. There is a short documentary on the disc, narrated by King where he talks on the purpose of movie, the reasons he made it and about the characters and their story.

Wow - beautiful photography! One critic described this film as "gorgeous visual poetry", and I agree. There are so many perfectly-captured moments when the picture says much more than the dialogue. 'Pearl Diver' is a heartwarming story that makes you think, but without bashing you over the head. The casting was perfect - very believable. I thought the ending would be predictable, but there were some surprises. Parts of the story were unsettling, but I was left with such an unexpected peaceful feeling afterwards. I hadn't heard of this film before, but I'm so glad I took a chance and bought the DVD.

THIS IS A GOOD MYSTERY STORY. IT WAS FILMED WITHIN 5 MILES OF MY HOME SO I ENJOYED SEEING THE FARM HOUSE AND LOCAL BUILDING IN THE AREA. MY WIFE AND ME REALLY LIKED THE MOVIE. IT IS WELL WORTH WATCHING.

A sad movie...it isn't acted very well but that could just be the budget. I am sure the story is good but the movie slaughters it.

I don't really recommend it for anyone but if you just NEED some entertainment and have nothing else to watch....

First time effort from Sidney King. I had never even heard of this film until earlier this week, so I decided to give it a try.

The story is engaging, but veers into cliched territory on more than one occasion. The acting leaves much to be desired, but is not unwatchable. Shot on a very low budget, and looks that way. This film may have been edited with a chainsaw...

If you have an hour and a half to spare, and aren't in the mood for anything challenging, you couldn't do much worse than PEARL DIVER.