Our secluded space. Review on The Beach Movie

I want to break free! Do you too?..from this routine life, the mundane chores, the monotonous work?If you often get such pangs, then this movie can be a good vent to let out your frustration.

Leonardo Di Caprio plays the character of a young American who wants to take a 2 month break from his routine and visits Thailand on vacation. He stumbles upon a guy who passes on to him a map leading to a secluded beach. Leonardo pursues the route and reaches there along with a French couple to discover a new way of life being lead by similar people.

The people living on the beach are a set of Europeans/Americans who have adopted a very self sufficient and secluded way of life limited to one corner of an island. Everyone works there to contribute in some way to the well being of others. They lead a simple secretive life depending minimally on external world. What they gain out of it is peace, a recluse from maddening cities, the crime, the politics and the suffering of the weak at the hands of the strong.

The script isn?t as strong as the setting and uniqueness of this way of living. In many ways, it is similar in bits and parts to ?Atlantis? referred to in Atlas Shrugged (The Book) by Ayn Rand- The one most pronounced rule being, one who doesn?t play by the simple rules is ousted.

It?s a great way of living in harmony with nature, much better than our superficial life among the malls and multiplexes. Also, it brings people of similar mentality and attitudes together where they can all do their own thing without interruptions from unwanted folks.

(Another such place I visited and truly relished spending 6 days there is Arambol beach in Goa.Its inhabited by mostly Israelis and few Europeans who come there every year for 6 months, setup shacks, cook their own cuisine,do their fire juggling in trance music, play their songs, learn and teach Reiki and are compeltely cut-off from the rest of the world.Those are people who'll never keep in touch with you once they leave simply because they know the next time you are there,they'll catchup with you unplanned.)

But I have often wondered if it?s sustainable. Maybe, after being used to comfortable well tuned lives in cities, we may not be able to adjust for long in such a setting.

The locales in the movie are breathtaking; especially the beach (Phi Phi Island).The snow-white sand and crystal clear water make for a fabulous combination. This beach was destroyed during December, 04 Tsunami but should be back in operation soon.

The music by All Saints and Moby is blissful and serene and suits the plot.Its haunting and sounds a lot like an ocean when its calm.

One of the best scenes of the movie is when Leonardo encounters a shark mid-sea and while he is loosing the battle with her, he reminds himself consciously that?s its his life and he will not give it away easily and then fights back to win. It?s one of those feelings you get when you have been so tormented and pressured by what weighs on you that you become immune to the pain and then just fight it away with an invincible spirit and will. Perhaps, that?s what drove him to come to Thailand the beach in first place.

It?s a different kind of movie that?ll be more relished by some of the adventurous folks.