This is an Irish film that has been entered into various film festivals this year. It was screened this past Monday, July 5 at the Paris Film Festival (Festival Paris Cinema), which I was lucky enough to attend.

Syracuse (Colin Farrell) is a local fisherman who is well known for his drunken antics. In fact, the whole town calls him “Circus” because of all the entertainment he has provided for the town. He sobered up though after finding out that his daughter Annie (Alison Barry) has kidney failure, but he still can’t seem to shake his nickname. Life as a fisherman has been tough for Syracuse. He barely makes ends meet and despite the fact that Annie’s mother is also an alcoholic, she kicked Syracuse out because of his inability to control his drinking. On top of it all, Syracuse struggles daily to maintain a cordial relationship with Annie’s mother just to be able to see his daughter. Syracuse’s luck begins to change though when he finds a woman, Ondine (Alicja Bachleda), caught in his fishing net. Whenever she goes out to sea with him and sings, Syracuse ends up with an unbelievable amount of lobsters and fish. Annie is convinced that Ondine is selkie. In Celtic myth, selkies are magical seal creatures that become human when they come on land and take off their seal coat. Selkies can remain on land for 7 years if they bury their seal coat and find a human husband. They are also able to grant one wish. Like all fairytales though, there is a catch….. A selkie has a selkie husband and if he comes to claim her she must return to the sea.

Annie and Syracuse are both enchanted by Ondine. Annie is hopeful that Ondine can cure her and will remain on land for 7 years. Syracuse has completely fallen for Ondine and tells her she can stay forever. Ondine insists that she will remain for as long as Syracuse likes, but it is important that she can’t be seen by anyone else.  It is a very small town though and ultimately her cover is blown. In addition, a mysterious man arrives into town that begins questioning the locals about her. Syracuse isn’t sure what to believe about Ondine, but as someone who is not used to having any luck, he’s convinced that something bad is about to happen.

When I saw the trailer, I was immediately reminded of the movie Splash released in 1984 with Tom Hanks and Darryl Hannah. It figured it was just an updated version with a little twist. After seeing the movie though, I can tell you that this film is a drama, not a comedy, and is much darker than the 1984 mermaid tale. In fact, when I left the theater I was speechless. I’m actually still trying to process what I saw. This movie definitely has some heart and it pulls you in. It gets you guessing about the true origin of Ondine. Is she a selkie or not? However, something is missing and I can’t quite put my finger on it. There are quite few things that are left unexplained and are kind of just glossed over. Still it’s great to support smaller films, so I say check it out and let me know what you think.