Customer Reviews

Princess Caraboo [VHS]

5 star:		(16)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

Based upon a true story, this is a charming film with wonderful performances by a stellar cast. It tells the tale of a mysterious young woman (Phoebe Cates) in nineteenth century England, who is found wandering the countryside dressed in outlandish clothing and supposedly speaking no English. She is taken in by a kindly aristocratic family, and she gulls them into believing that she is some sort of exotic, foreign royal, Princess Caraboo.

Princess Caraboo charms all who meet her. Everyone is intrigued by her. Just who is she and where is she from? The Greek butler (Kevin Kline) thinks that she is an imposter. The aristocratic couple ( Jim Broadbent and Wendy Hughes), who virtually adopt her, believe her to be the real deal. The skeptical academic (John Lithgow), who specializes in Southeastern Asian languages and dialects and was brought in to try and determine her origin, is not immune to the charm of Princess Caraboo. Even the intrepid reporter, Mr. Gutch (Stephen Rea), who is onto something that may reveal the mystery of Princess Caraboo, falls under her spell.

Phoebe Cates outdid herself, giving a wonderful performance in an inherently difficult role that calls for speaking very little, and when she does speak it is, for the most part, to utter what sounds like gibberish. She is very expressive and totally charms the viewer. Jim Broadbent and Wendy Hughes are terrific as the aristocratic couple. Kevin Kline gives an over the top performance as the wily Greek butler. John Lithgow is outstanding as the academic and drolly funny. Stephen Rea is wonderful as the conflicted reporter, giving a well nuanced and sensitive performance. All in all, this is a perfectly delightful film that is suitable for the entire family.

The DVD itself offers high quality visuals and audio, but offers no special features or bonus extras.

Princess Caraboo is simultaneously a wonderful fairy tale of a lost princess who survives harrowing adventures in a foreign land, and also a light treatment of a period of social unrest and class struggle in historic England.

The fairy tale is the more compelling of the two aspects, which makes this movie a wonderful film for adults and children alike. Cates' unswerving imperial manner juxtaposed with her childlike wonder are engrossing not only to us, the audience, but to the people swept up in her adventure, especially the wonderful Stephen Rea as a cynical journalist transformed by her strength and beauty.

The social commentary is touched upon only lightly and occasionally, making the resolution to the question of the princess somewhat of a letdown; we aren't really given anough information to understand how she got to where she did. (Sorry for the vagueness -- I'm avoiding spoilers, here.) However, the concurrent resolution of the problems of Mrs. Warren, the kind lady who took in the princess, is worth whatever confusion or incompleteness there might be.

Overall, this is a delightful story for all ages, which sparks the imagination and holds your interest until the very last moment.

This is such a wonderful movie -- engaging, humorous, delightful, romantic, and based on a real event. Beautifully acted and produced, with wonderful costumes, it also provides good fodder for a family discussion of human values. It's easy for us to become complacent about the idea that "all humanity is created equal" (of equal value) - but that's a radical notion throughout most of human history, even "civilized" England from a few hundred years ago. Buy it! Enjoy it!

I love this movie. Most of all, the story is delightful and well told.

I loved this movie because it has that adult fantasy innocence that's pretty rare these days. It's a fun movie to watch without that "too young" topic and it's safe for the kids if they want to watch it with you.

This is such a wonderful movie -- engaging, humorous, delightful, romantic, and based on a real event. Beautifully acted and produced, with wonderful costumes, it also provides good fodder for a family discussion of human values. It's easy for us to become complacent about the idea that "all humanity is created equal" (of equal value) - but that's a radical notion throughout most of human history, even "civilized" England from a few hundred years ago. Buy it! Enjoy it!

In the early 19th century, a woman in foreign garb is found walking the English countryside. Her language is a mystery. Is she the lost princess of South Pacific island, a lunatic, or someone else entirely? This is the central question of Princess Caraboo, whose title character is wonderfully played by the alternatively child-like and proud Phoebe Cates. Kevin Kline and John Lithgow deliver very funny performances as, respectively, the suspicious Greek butler of the family that "adopts" Caraboo and a professor called in to determine whether she's a fraud. Through it all, Stephen Rea provides a quiet, consistent presence as a journalist fascinated by Caraboo's story, whatever it may really be (though Rea's hair is disturbingly similar to Richard Simmons' here). This is a good rental film, filled both with these performances and gorgeous scenes of the English countryside. And it is not without a relevant message: do we not hope that those around us may turn out to be more than they seem, so that we may either profit by our association with them or, if they turn out to be infamous, come out looking superior? A pleasant 4-star diversion.

This movie is a very cute "family" movie. It was one that the whole family enjoyed. It is unusal to find a movie that will be suitable for younger children and teen alike. This movie is one that fits that bill. Highly recommended.

If you're anywhere close to my generation, then teen films like THE BREAKFAST CLUB and FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH will resonate more for you. Phoebe Cates remains an icon to folks like me, and what dude didn't have a crush on her, a crush brought about mostly from that one oh-so-memorable image of her from FAST TIMES AT RIDGEMONT HIGH (yeah, you know the one). But, as it turns out, with mad respect to FAST TIMES, my favorite Phoebe Cates movie is PRINCESS CARABOO.

The summer of 1817 finds the peace of an English village shattered by the arrival of a fetching, oddly-garbed vagabond. Arrested for vagrancy, the young woman's imperious bearing and indecipherable tongue impress the aristocratic Mrs. Worrall, who takes her in. It doesn't take too long for word to get around that the Worralls are housing East Indian royalty and that her name is "Princess Caraboo," so-called for that oft-repeated word of hers. As well, it dawns on the Worralls, who rank somewhere near the bottom of high society, that sponsoring the exotic princess bears potential for advancing their status and wealth. In time Caraboo's story trickles out, of her abduction from her palace by pirates and her escape from captivity by jumping off a merchant ship and into the Bristol Channel. She becomes a sensation amongst the elite social circles, and soon quite a few of the priveleged are sporting a turban.

Others aren't convinced, including the Worrall's household servants who from the start speculate about the girl's true origins. Kevin Kline (Cates' real life hubby) is equally droll and annoying and very over-the-top as the skeptical, insolent Greek butler who strives so hard to disprove Caraboo's pedigree - but even he is won over. John Lithgow appears as an Oxford linguist whose efforts are stymied by Caraboo until he at last slumps away in defeat. Caraboo's biggest detractor may well be the journalist Mr. John Gutch, played with a jaded air by Stephen Rea. In Gutch, one may detect a carefully hidden bump of wistfulness, but that's not near enough to keep him from doggedly pursuing the truth. But it makes him more likeable.

If only Merchant Ivory pictures were more like PRINCESS CARABOO, I'd be a lot more high class and snooty by now, brother. PRINCESS CARABOO unfolds as a charming 19th century fable and a satire of the English social classes. Thanks to the actors, and mostly to Cates' winning performance, the skimpy premise doesn't wear itself out. The story is based on actual events, with, of course, a bit of the embellished here and there. It actually saddens me a bit to learn that the romance between Caraboo and Mr. Gutch, unconvincing though it is, is a thing of fiction, because these two are appealing characters. But the film barely develops this romance. I don't know that Mr. Gutch warning the princess that perjury is a hanging offense or Caraboo wishing him goodbye ("Kola feni foo") are enough to merit courtship. Cates and Rea barely share scenes together.

As Mr. Gutch states, people believe two things: what they read in the paper and what they want to believe. Princess Caraboo may or may not be an actual princess - we don't find out until near the very end in one affecting moment - but gullibility is demonstrated front and center when the Prince Regent hosts a ball in Princess Caraboo's honor and the princess leads the besotted highborn into a silly conga line dance.

Cates has the challenging gig of ingratiating herself to the audience even as she's restricted to eccentric gestures and to dialogue consisting of jibber jabber. Yet her expressiveness wins out. And, of course, it helps that Phoebe Cates looks like Phoebe Cates, a sexy waif. Here's a toast from the film (and I'll leave it up to you to guess who airs this sentiment): "To Her Royal Highness. She not Greek. She not French. She not Indian. She not African. She not Russian. She our own princess. Long live the Princess Caraboo." In the end, irregardless of Caraboo's true nature, regal or not, I guess we can take away two things from this movie: that you may be surprised by how far you'd get, with composure and with creativity given free reign. The other thing is, damn, is Phoebe Cates fine or what?

Kola feni foo, brother.

This is one of my alltime favorite movies. I was greatly pleased with the speedy arrival, and yet the price tag was a tolerable value.