Thalassa, Thalassa

What constitutes a children's film in the rest of the world is very different from what passes muster in the U.S. of A., as demonstrated by Bogdan Dumitrescu's 1994 German/Romanian co-production Thalassa, Thalassa, Return to the Sea (Balkan Cinema: Home Truths). When a gaggle of Romanian kids stumble across an obviously stolen but cherry Jaguar convertible in a remote barn, it's off to the (presumably Black) sea for the merry band, who spend the 42 klicks doing a gentle, non-lethal variation on Lord of the Flies (without the conch). The fine sense of wonder and empowerment as the urchins motor along to parts unknown is undone for western audiences by their indulgence in all manner of vice, from drinking to smoking and banging the car up pretty good. Not to be prudish at all, but one wonders exactly what the target audience might be for a film that isn't involving enough for the kiddies (the 90 minutes is pretty pokey) nor remotely innocent enough to pass adult muster. And there are a lot of films like this in eastern Europe, artistic orphans that don't seem to have a home much of anywhere. - Yenool