The Queen of Sheba's Pearls (2004)

Set in post-war England, a mysterious woman arrives at the Prettys' rural family home on the eve of young Jack's 16th birthday. Her remarkable likeness to a Pretty family member who ... See full summary »

Director:

Colin Nutley

Writer:

Colin Nutley

Stars:

Helena Bergström, Lorcan Cranitch, Lindsay Duncan

3 wins & 2 nominations.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Helena Bergström	...	Nancy Ackerman / Emily Bradley
Lorcan Cranitch	...	Harold Bradley
Lindsay Duncan	...	Audrey Pretty
Tim Dutton	...	Father Talbot
Rolf Lassgård	...	Deafy
Natasha Little	...	Peggy Pretty
Elizabeth Spriggs	...	Laura Pretty
Peter Vaughan	...	Edward Pretty
Rollo Weeks	...	Jack Bradley
Eileen Atkins	...	School Matron
Marc Pickering	...	Dinger Bell
Simon Paisley Day	...	Headmaster Weare
Bohdan Poraj	...	Teacher
John Joe Regan	...	Geoffrey Thicket
James Hawkins	...	Jack Bradley (young)

Storyline

Set in post-war England, a mysterious woman arrives at the Prettys' rural family home on the eve of young Jack's 16th birthday. Her remarkable likeness to a Pretty family member who tragically died in an accident 8 years ago both baffles and unsettles the family.

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Genres:

Drama

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Details

Country:

Sweden UK

Language:

English Swedish

Release Date:

25 December 2004 (Sweden)

Also Known As:

Perly królowej Saby

Filming Locations:

Devon, England, UK

Box Office

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$622,752

Company Credits

Production Co:

AKA Pictures, Nordisk Film- & TV-Fond, Random Harvest Film Partnership II

Technical Specs

Runtime:

123 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

Come Rain or Come Shine
Music by Harold Arlen
Lyrics by Johnny Mercer
Performed by Margaret Whiting

User Reviews

Director's challenge in the final finesse

... there are so many good things in this film and yet the film doesn't shine as it should! ... essentially due to issues with Script and Directing

this film rambles ... the script could have benefited from a good prune and reshaping, it feels like a film adapted from a book though its not ... there are parts of the film that work and other parts which feel awkward/too melodramatic

I'm frustrated with films like this : bec its evident in the production values that all the Departments brought their A Game : production design, the costumiers, the actors, the lighting, the greens, the Camera dept, the music, the sound etc etc ... ALL the departments are top notch EXCEPT the Director ... to make films of this complexity requires an incredible Producer ... and I fear that often perhaps the Director may get so lost micro managing that they slip from being the top notch visionary General in command ...

so in this case, what would have been best for this production is to bring in a Director that matches the calibre of the troops

however Wikipedia advises that this was impossible for this production as " The movie was produced, directed and written by Colin Nutley who also happens to be married to the film's star, Helena Bergström" : great pity ... in hindsight I'd advise somehow working in more objectivity and separation... its a very pretty film but too jumbled

really a film like this holds such promise with the elements glowing ... they just needed the Director to weave them with the objectivity of a knife! what a pity