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After The Storm

[2001, Movie]

After The Storm: Review

Adapted by Hemingway expert A.E. Hotchner, this slab of sun-baked machismo (expanded from a four-page short story) has as much to do with Hemingway as that new line of furniture being mass marketed in his name. On a Caribbean island in 1933, small craft owner Arno (Benjamin Bratt) ekes out a living as a beachcomber and messenger boy for wealthy tourists. When Arno refuses to circle Cuban waters for a shady operator named Ortega (Nestor Serrano), Ortega conspires with Sgt. Major Jim (Stephen Lang) to trump up drug charges that will force Arno to cooperate. Before Arno can deliver a "pharmaceutical" package to a gangster tycoon, a violent storm sinks the millionaire miscreant's yacht. After escaping the clutches of Sgt. Major Jim and Ortega, Arno teams up with by local beauty Coquina (Mili Avital) to beat other scavengers to the gems and bullion that went down with the ship. Unlike the poorly equipped Arno, gigolo Jean-Pierre (Armand Assante) and his wife possess the means to blow up the ship's safe, so Arno and Coquina form an tenuous alliance with the other couple, promising to split the booty. Complicating matters further, the scavengers plan to use a makeshift diving bell to reach the spoils, but there's a shark prowling the waters near the downed vessel and snacking on the downed yacht's unfortunate passengers. By the time Ortega gets into the act, the greedy quartet have begun plotting against each other. Will Arno lose his big score to one or more of his partners, Ortega or that territorial shark? Although the film's dialogue mimics Hemingway's clipped prose, the scenario ends resembles a seasick remake of TREASURE OF THE SIERRA MADRE. Shame on you, Mr. Hotchner! --Robert Pardi