Fishtales (2007)

The film takes place on the Greek Island of Spetses, where widowed Greek-History Professor Thomas Bradley is about to lose his research grant studying ancient love spells. He knows he is ... See full summary »

Director:

Alki David

Writers:

Alki David, Melissa Painter

Stars:

Billy Zane, Kelly Brook, Alki David

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Billy Zane	...	Dr. Thomas Bradley
Kelly Brook	...	Neried
Alki David	...	Captain Mavros
Amber Savva	...	Serena Bradley
Felix Yanez	...	Dimitri Mavros
Efi Papatheodorou	...	Klymeni (as Effi Papatheodorou)
John Nettleton	...	Professor Coulter
Terrence Hardiman	...	Professor Ratcher
John Quayle	...	Professor Whiner
Dorothea Mercouri	...	Burning Bride (as Dorotea Mercuri)
Natalia Kapodistria	...	Trinket Shop Owner
Olivia Grant	...	Angela
Vicky Protogeraki	...	Niece 1 (as Bicky Protogeraki)
Melina Kyriakopoulou	...	Niece 2
Rod Woodruff	...	Man in Restaurant

Storyline

The film takes place on the Greek Island of Spetses, where widowed Greek-History Professor Thomas Bradley is about to lose his research grant studying ancient love spells. He knows he is close to a major academic breakthrough and desperately wants to continue his research. Thomas is given one last chance to continue his work on a Greek island, at the home of the supportive Oxford don, Professor Coulter. Joined by his 12 year-old daughter, Serena, Thomas departs to the Greece island looking for the inspiration he needs to finish his thesis. Serena knows that what her father needs most of all is to find love again after the loss of his wife. Initially, Serena tries her hand at matchmaking with the local women on the island, who are less than impressed by the awkward and clumsy Thomas. Very much in tune to the ancient spirits herself, Serena meets Nereid a beautiful mermaid. However, menace is present in the form of the evil Captain Mavros, an island fisherman intent on killing Nereid ...

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Plot Keywords:

mermaid | caught in a net | fishing net

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Taglines:

A funny catch!

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Genres:

Family

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG for some rude humor and language

Details

Official Sites:

Official site (archive)

Country:

UK

Language:

English Greek

Release Date:

1 May 2008 (USA)

Also Known As:

Hableány a horgon

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$14,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Arokaria, Full On Film Productions (I)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

94 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The mermaid tail that Kelly Brook and her stunt double, Hannah Stacey, wore for the film were specially moulded to fit each of them and took three and a half months to build.

User Reviews

See 'Splash' Instead

The cast may have seemed to have had fun filming this--but you certainly won't.

Classicist goes to Greek island with his daughter to work on his research on ancient love spells. There his daughter befriends a mermaid, with whom she subsequently attempts to fix up her reclusive and work-obsessed father.

Sounds good when I put it that way but sitting through the film is a very different experience. If I had to describe this entire movie in one word, it would be "jagged." The plot lurches abruptly in random directions, with characters' motivations suddenly shifting unexplainably or we see them performing actions which are bizarre and out of place.

Not long after the professor arrives on the island, he calls Oxford and, in a drunken stupor, tells them he quits his job. There is no lead up to this. Nothing. Out of nowhere, a perfectly composed researcher is shown drunk and quitting. His daughter, who befriends the mermaid, does all she can to make her father and the mermaid meet only to suddenly change her mind because she realizes her father is in love with "a fish." Why is the daughter's motivation suddenly twisted around 180 degrees? In another scene, we see the daughter walking into a shop and addressed by a female shopkeeper with a dubbed male voice who snorts, pig-like. Why? We will never know. The villain is played by a local fisherman with a mechanical arm (your guess it as good as mine here) who wants to capture the mermaid for his own profit.

Countless of scenes consist of snippets of dialog which seem to have belonged in a bigger conversation. Then the scene cuts to yet another in a long stream of bizarre happenings.

I don't want to put this film down, because I rather like its strange but original nature. However, I must warn any potential viewers: If you are looking for an off-beat, strange little movie that'll slightly perplex you while it throws in a few slightly amusing parts, then sure, go see "Fishtales." However, if you are looking to be ENTERTAINED--if you want a movie with a coherent plot, which is well-paced, moves in a pleasant manner and captures you attention without you having to constantly pause and ask yourself, "what the..."--see "Splash" instead.