Liverpool Sound and Vision Rating * * * *
Cast: Jack Laskey, Zhu Zhu, Ching-ting Hsia, Leon Dai, Si Qin Chao Ke Tu, Ying Wang, Aroon Wanasbodeewong, Sittinont Ananvorakhun, K.M. Lo, Guo Zhongyou, Song Bin Zhu, Bao Yin Ni Mu Hu.
Man is not an island, unless of course he decides to cocoon himself from danger and the questions of his mind and so called masters, even then he will still find a way to share his secrets with something, even if it’s the sea.
Joseph Conrad’s works somehow never seem to be given the full praise they deserve in cinematic terms despite having many adaptations. Notably The Heart of Darkness (Apocalypse Now) and The Secret Agent (Alfred Hitchcock’s Sabotage) are two that stand out because of the way that the directors had the courage to tackle them properly and yet despite the fact that the latest of his work to be scrutinised to be placed before a cinema audience, Secret Sharer, is a film that delves into the relationship between man and the sea but also of isolation even when there are other people around and the language barrier that marks you out as different, it is a film in which to great pleasure in and ultimately applaud for its bravery and boldness in its casting.
By placing faith in Conrad’s idea of a Polish Captain being charged with scuppering a ship which employs several Chinese merchant seamen the makers of this film have restored some semblance of balance between the world of literature and its cinematic cousin. It is an idea that works well for a British audience because there is no vested interest for any type of betrayed sympathy, what you have is two sides at odds but trying to get on do the job at hand, initially to get the ship back to Shanghai for a refit, but who are bought together by the appearance of a mysterious Chinese woman who has been accused of murder.
This woman, played by the delightfully charismatic Zhu Zhu brings the men together by her suggestions down the Captain’s ear, Endeavour’s Jack Laskey giving an excellent performance, that he needs to see the world through the eyes of those he is charge of. To remove the badge of office as everybody knows who he is and let the sea determine equality.
The relationship between man and sea is always a difficult one to capture fully; the ocean’s are too deep to ever truly understand, but Secret Sharer makes the most of the covert arrangement that stands as an unspoken pact between humanity and the ocean depths.
With excellent performances from Ching-ting Hsia and especially Leon Dai as the former Captain Wang, this is a film that shows Joseph Conrad’s work of too great extent and matches Apocalypse Now and Sabotage for their thoughtful approach and subtext, even if it doesn’t quite match the unrepentant onslaught offered by Apocalypse Now or Hitchcock’s mastery of the medium.
Ian D. Hall