The Beach

(Written a decade ago, at a time when it was fashionable among "film buffs" to ridicule DiCaprio, who for many years carried on his pretty boy legacy after the premiere of Titanic). The general fad of Di Caprio bashing has thankfully passed me by, and so I enjoyed this likeable film without judgement, unlike many of my friends. An interesting story with a deeper message, a very attractive setting and a great soundtrack. Many people didn't even want to see it on the dubious principle of "because that idiot is there". Their mistake. (11.05.2003)

It's a reflection on people, about who we are and what we are willing to do for our lifestyle. About morality, fleeting feelings of happiness and lying to ourselves that we were actually doing it for the greater good. Garland's subject walks untrodden island paths in the shoes of a dim-witted, young-faced American, Leonardo DiCaprio, who destroys relationships and a community that was looking for a better life because it was bored in the real world. The scenes with Robert Carlyle are a beautiful manifestation of the modern concept of madness. There’s not a single likeable character. (09.10.2022)

Schwer zu sagen, wie es dem Film The Beach gelungen ist, aber er hat mich völlig bezaubert. Dabei habe ich ihn wegen seines nicht gerade guten Rufes lange gemieden. Leonardo DiCaprio hat mir schließlich mehr als in vielen neueren Filmen gefallen. Danny Boyle (obwohl er sagt, dass er mit The Beach nicht hundertprozentig zufrieden ist) hat bestätigt, dass er ein Meister in seinem Fachgebiet ist. Außerdem hat er eine fast irreale und sich allmählich verdichtende Stimmung geschaffen, deren Steigerung im Finale beim Publikum fast einen Infarkt verursacht. Dabei hat ihm – wie immer – ein ausgezeichneter Soundtrack geholfen. Und außerdem hat der Film einen guten Gedanken. (20.01.2015)

Boyle is certainly a narrative innovator, the images and scenery he creates are beautiful to look at, and he manages to bring creativity to a teenage movie trip to a tropical island full of weed and horny women. If we look only at the direction, the original premise and the excellent soundtrack, the cult status of The Beach can’t surprise anyone, but if we take into account the development of the plot, its escalation, its emotional or psychological depth or the ideas arising from it, this exotic flick is nothing special at all. DiCaprio's character, who’s supposed to be the centre of the story, is strangely written, with motivations that become increasingly incomprehensible, an inner conflict that is ignited in a matter of moments, and even though all the problems are blamed on him, it's as if no one really cares in the end.... Fun flick, but its ambitions were clearly much higher. 65% (04.12.2015)

Mein Lieblingsfilmerlebnis, die Vorstellung von einem solchen Paradies begeistert mich jedes Mal aufs Neue, der Tatsache zum Trotz, dass es wohl auf Erde kein Paradies geben wird und die Besetzung eines solchen Paradieses mit verschiedensten Klippen fertigwerden muss. Virginie Ledoyen ist wie immer einzigartig, DiCaprio versteht meiner Meinung nach sein Handwerk, und Guillaume Canet enttäuscht ebenfalls selten. (16.04.2007)