Redundant and unnecessary.

Let me be very fair here, this is not the best movie in my opinion. But, this movie is fun, it has purpose and is very enjoyable to watch.

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

Just a point of clarification regarding the summary for this film: Yanko is not Russian in this film. If you listen carefully to what he is actually saying in the movie, he is speaking Ukrainian. For example, in the scene later in the movie in which he is feverish, he keeps repeating a phrase over and over again. The phrase that he is saying is, "Dai meni vodi." In English translation, he is saying, "Give me some water." In addition, the immigration details of his circumstances and trip would fit with immigration from Ukraine or borderlands between Ukraine and Poland (although he is not speaking Polish) at the turn of the century. He plays chess, which would be consistent with Ukrainian heritage (among others). Finally, his clothing and the type of dance he does with his son is Ukrainian in style. The expansive arms and the gentleness with which he is dancing speaks more of a Ukrainian dance style than a Russian style. However, the most obvious and relevant point is that the language he is speaking in the film is Ukrainian, not Russian. Unfortunately, many people confuse Russian culture with Ukrainian and other East European peoples. IMDb probably should correct its description of this film for accuracy.

My only complaints being the occasionally sluggish pacing and the variable sound ranging from too loud to too quiet, this is a beautiful, tragic and haunting film based on an even more beautiful, tragic and haunting story. The direction is very romantic but I never actually found it overblown or melodramatic, and the story does convey a range of emotions especially in the second half. In terms of effective scenes, the opening scene did set the atmosphere really well, and the rock pool love scene I actually didn't have any problem with, clichéd perhaps but random no not really. The scenery, sets, costumes and cinematography are meticulous, the score is stunning, the screenplay is honest and the acting from Rachel Weisz, Vincent Perez, Kathy Bates, Ian McKellen and Joss Ackland is spot on. Overall, Swept from the Sea:The Story of Amy Foster is a beautiful, tragic and haunting story, that is worth seeing. 8/10 Bethany Cox

"Swept from the Sea" ('Amy Foster') is my 4th or 3rd favorite film of all time. The shortest way I can describe it is: "Amy" has a sad family secret which makes her the 'outcast' of the town. "Yanko" is a Ukrainian that is the sole survivor of his ship wreck. As his language is so odd to the people of Cornwall they just assume that he is dim in the head. (They are both outcasts). Amy Foster feels for him as they are both living in their hard - outcast time and he falls for her. It is so difficult for both of them just get one foot forward in their life or in any sort of a relationship with their yucky surroundings. If you do not feel for this film (these characters) you have no soul. Post Script- Ian McKellan, Kathy Bates & Joss Acklund are fantastic in this movie.

I managed to catch this film while channel surfing and quickly ushered my children outside so that I could enjoy the show. Although the cinematography may not be up to Hollywood standards of crisp, digitized landscapes I found the film to be a wonderful tale. If you have felt like the outsider, ever tried to shut off your emotions in order to stop others from hurting you - you will have no trouble relating to the character of Amy Foster. The acting was well done (I am not an expert at English dialects, although I'd say the accents were as adequately done as the actors who attempted the Newfie accent in The Shipping News). I love historical tales (Jane Austen is a favourite) and thoroughly enjoyed this one as well. 8 out of 10