I did not enjoy this film as much as I did Unrelated but I did enjoy it quite a bit. It was directed in the same style as Unrelated but the story was not as interesting to me.It actually was a great story though, and there are plenty of well-written characters that were incredibly acted as well.
Archipelago is the story of a family that goes on vacation to bid farewell to the youngest son, Edward-played by Tom Hiddleston, who is going away to Africa for 11 months to educate young people about AIDS in attempt to save some lives. The family consists of Cynthia and Edward- who are the two children, and Patricia-their mother. They are accompanied by Christopher-a painter, and Rose- the cook. Patricia's husband and the children's father is due to vacation along with the family but he continues to postpone his arrival, causing a lot of conflict within the family, especially with Patricia. Edward is sort of the black sheep of the family, he is a very sensitive person who cares a great deal for people and because of this, does not really stand up for himself. Patricia and Cynthia are not as kindhearted as Edward and together, they find him to be quirky. Cynthia definitely has a personality that is completely polar to Edward's. She is adamant and practical while he allows other people to have their will be done before his.
I found Cynthia to be wonderfully complex and well-portrayed. She has a lot of regret in her life and that comes out as a hostility towards her younger brother, Edward, who seems to be living his life the way he wants. This leads to a jealousy in Cynthia which causes her to discourage Edward, and he is quite directly affected by her remarks and begins to doubt himself which is quite difficult to deal with as a young person embarking on the beginning of the rest of their life. What I loved about this conflict is that it lead to Edward's conversation with the painter about finding one's meaning and purpose in life. Christopher explains to Edward that it took him a long time to find what he was meant to do, and this is the same for a lot of people. Most of us live our entire lives doing something that isn't our dream because we fear the unknown and uncertainty of our future. He tells Edward that it's inevitable that he's going to do a lot of things in life that maybe aren't the right thing, but they all lead up to the thing that's right in the end. He says "it's never lost", and then bluntly tells Edward to toughen up which was something he really needed to hear. He seemed to have spent his entire life being told what to do and taking criticism without arguing it. It was so wonderful to see such a true and interesting yet sad dynamic between brother and sister. Both of the characters (Edward and Cynthia) were so well portrayed by Joanna Hogg who wrote them but also the understanding of them by Tom Hiddleston and Lydia Leonard. Their sadness and confusion that comes with life was understandable, especially how it affected and fed the other characters around them. That part was very well done.
Like Unrelated, this film was shot on location. While Unrelated took place in Tuscany, Italy; Archipelago took place on the Isles Scilly, Cornwall. The locations for both films are extremely beautiful, especially for someone like me who has never been to Europe. I would recommend this film for people to appreciate well-written, honest characters who drive the story rather than extremely unrealistic events. Like Unrelated, it is very simplistic and genuine.
Archipelago is the story of a family that goes on vacation to bid farewell to the youngest son, Edward-played by Tom Hiddleston, who is going away to Africa for 11 months to educate young people about AIDS in attempt to save some lives. The family consists of Cynthia and Edward- who are the two children, and Patricia-their mother. They are accompanied by Christopher-a painter, and Rose- the cook. Patricia's husband and the children's father is due to vacation along with the family but he continues to postpone his arrival, causing a lot of conflict within the family, especially with Patricia. Edward is sort of the black sheep of the family, he is a very sensitive person who cares a great deal for people and because of this, does not really stand up for himself. Patricia and Cynthia are not as kindhearted as Edward and together, they find him to be quirky. Cynthia definitely has a personality that is completely polar to Edward's. She is adamant and practical while he allows other people to have their will be done before his.
I found Cynthia to be wonderfully complex and well-portrayed. She has a lot of regret in her life and that comes out as a hostility towards her younger brother, Edward, who seems to be living his life the way he wants. This leads to a jealousy in Cynthia which causes her to discourage Edward, and he is quite directly affected by her remarks and begins to doubt himself which is quite difficult to deal with as a young person embarking on the beginning of the rest of their life. What I loved about this conflict is that it lead to Edward's conversation with the painter about finding one's meaning and purpose in life. Christopher explains to Edward that it took him a long time to find what he was meant to do, and this is the same for a lot of people. Most of us live our entire lives doing something that isn't our dream because we fear the unknown and uncertainty of our future. He tells Edward that it's inevitable that he's going to do a lot of things in life that maybe aren't the right thing, but they all lead up to the thing that's right in the end. He says "it's never lost", and then bluntly tells Edward to toughen up which was something he really needed to hear. He seemed to have spent his entire life being told what to do and taking criticism without arguing it. It was so wonderful to see such a true and interesting yet sad dynamic between brother and sister. Both of the characters (Edward and Cynthia) were so well portrayed by Joanna Hogg who wrote them but also the understanding of them by Tom Hiddleston and Lydia Leonard. Their sadness and confusion that comes with life was understandable, especially how it affected and fed the other characters around them. That part was very well done.
Like Unrelated, this film was shot on location. While Unrelated took place in Tuscany, Italy; Archipelago took place on the Isles Scilly, Cornwall. The locations for both films are extremely beautiful, especially for someone like me who has never been to Europe. I would recommend this film for people to appreciate well-written, honest characters who drive the story rather than extremely unrealistic events. Like Unrelated, it is very simplistic and genuine.