Albatross

A seaside inn is run the Fischer family, consisting of two daughters and their parents. Their lives are in a rut as they mark time, day to day.

When we first meet Emilia, she is lighting firecrackers and dropping them in a barrel, inciting action by the local police. She is an irreverent 17-year-old who likes to break the rules and shake things up. When she is introduced into the Fischer household, she is like a spark that lights a fuse.

The actions that follow are sometimes predictable, sometimes not. But the result of this volatile situation is what the viewer must wait for.

The film's title is a reference to Coleridge's Albatross; the film reveals how it applies differently to three of the characters. It is up to the viewer to determine in what other ways the title refers to burdens the characters must bear.

Albatross is a delightful film. The story is charming even as it is fraught with dangers. The acting is top notch. I would not change one performer. The background music ranges, appropriately, from whimsical to poignant.

This British film is a drama filled with comedy. And it shows how life's resolutions sometimes come from tragic moments.