Fantastic!

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

It’s sentimental, ridiculously long and only occasionally funny

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This film is about a Russian man who survives a shipwreck. He stays in Britain to start a new life, only to face maltreatment and discrimination. His life turns a new chapter when he falls in love against all odds."Swept from the Sea" is definitely a beautiful and emotional film. The second half of the film had so much emotions that captured me. It engages me so much that I wanted to know what will happen the next second. Rachel Weisz is brilliant in it, her fear in the hut and the subsequent guilt are played very well. Her lines about her dearest belongings being swept from the sea are touching and thought provoking. It saddens me as it highlights her position as an outcast in the community.However, I find the first half of the film rather inconsistent. The relationship between different characters are inadequately introduced, so I was completely confused by the shocking revelation about Amy Foster's heritage.Overall, I enjoyed watching "Swept from the Sea".

Set in England, probably in the 1800s, this film deals not only with a beautiful love story, but with being an outsider--and the kind of ugly hatred some people exhibit towards those they consider different from themselves. It also deals with blaming others and not accepting the responsibilities of your own faults.Yanko Gooral(played by gorgeous Vincent Perez) is a young man from the Ukraine, who, with some other young men from the Ukraine, decides to go to America.Amy Foster (played by beautiful Rachel Weisz) is a young Englishwoman, who works as a servant, and helps support her hateful parents and younger siblings. Eventually we discover a shocking secret about Amy and her parents, that explains their warped bitterness.The ship Yanko is on is destroyed in a storm, flinging him up onto the coast of England; when he wanders ashore, he is at first treated like a lunatic by the fearful inhabitants.Unable to speak English, Yanko is unable to communicate with anyone and Amy is the only person who treats him with any human kindness.Eventually he is befriended by a Dr. Kennedy, and another family in the area, learns English, and his life seems to be becoming somewhat better. However the ignorant and bigoted, of which there are many, continue to give both him and Amy a hard time. In fact, the actions of the bigots lead indirectly to what finally happens to this young man.I didn't pick it up until almost the end of the movie, but in my opinion, there's a bit of an undercurrent of homo-eroticism in the doctor's feelings regarding Yanko--which ties in to the doctor's behavior towards Amy, and leads eventually to an unexpected scene between him and Amy at the conclusion of the film.10 stars

Bandeman on June 20, 2001 wrote: "I'd say this is probably the best acting I've seen out of Rachel Weisz in the five of her movies I've seen. However I notice that those expressions which I felt were so striking in this movie for this character are rather stereotyped expressions that she uses in general. I don't know whether that is what the directors are looking for or if this is one of the few acting flaws that Ms. Weisz might yet overcome." I want to say what I think about that because I have seen this situation many times in different actors and actress. I think it's not only the directors or the character, but the casting. I mean, they are often selected because the producers, directors or writers have seen them acting in a movie, specially who has a career, so, some expressions are used for the new character no matter the play is.

I managed to catch this film while channel surfing and quickly ushered my children outside so that I could enjoy the show. Although the cinematography may not be up to Hollywood standards of crisp, digitized landscapes I found the film to be a wonderful tale. If you have felt like the outsider, ever tried to shut off your emotions in order to stop others from hurting you - you will have no trouble relating to the character of Amy Foster. The acting was well done (I am not an expert at English dialects, although I'd say the accents were as adequately done as the actors who attempted the Newfie accent in The Shipping News). I love historical tales (Jane Austen is a favourite) and thoroughly enjoyed this one as well. 8 out of 10