"Whatever your haven is, it's your responsibility to protect it," says director Frankie Flowers. With the release of "Haven" in theaters this week, Flowers hits a jackpot in his first major full-length film.
Shot entirely in the West Indies' Cayman Islands, the movie's gorgeous, tranquil setting proves to be anything but a haven for corrupt businessman Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton). Upon his hurried arrival to the island, with the Feds in pursuit and one million dollars taped to his stomach, Ridley joins and fuels a world always on the brink of chaos.
Ridley's distressed teenage daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) pains over the sudden departure from their Floridian home and suddenly finds her way into the turbulent gang-like party scene with Cayman native Fritz (Victor Rasuk) at her side.
Tossed into the fray too are forbidden lovers Shy (Orlando Bloom) and Andrea (Zoë Saldana). Their story of illicit love soon interconnects with the Ridley family tale of corruption and teen angst, turning the islands from a haven to a dangerously flawed paradise.
Filmed in 29 days by an up-and-coming director of only 26-years-old, "Haven" makes an epic name for Caribbean filmmaking. In fact, writer/director Flowers grew up in the Cayman Islands. His inspiration for the movie developed through personal experiences, stories from friends and passed-on tales of sorrow and peril from around the islands. "Haven" effectively illustrates Cayman life in its richest, most cultural, and yet devastating state.
Unique cinematography is what makes the "Haven" experience so enrapturing. Quick angle changes, documentary-like movements, and extensive use of the "close-up" view create a sense of mystery and confusion, causing audiences to feel wonderfully trapped in the chaotic Cayman world. Flowers also plays with non-linear time, in ways comparable to movies like "Pulp Fiction" and "Crash."
But it brings new innovation to this style, beginning the film with one plot-line and waiting nearly a half hour before introducing the next. Audiences may be initially confused by the weaving storylines, but when Ridley's tale connects with that of Shy and Andrea, you are surely left breathless by the results.
Shot entirely in the West Indies' Cayman Islands, the movie's gorgeous, tranquil setting proves to be anything but a haven for corrupt businessman Carl Ridley (Bill Paxton). Upon his hurried arrival to the island, with the Feds in pursuit and one million dollars taped to his stomach, Ridley joins and fuels a world always on the brink of chaos.
Ridley's distressed teenage daughter Pippa (Agnes Bruckner) pains over the sudden departure from their Floridian home and suddenly finds her way into the turbulent gang-like party scene with Cayman native Fritz (Victor Rasuk) at her side.
Tossed into the fray too are forbidden lovers Shy (Orlando Bloom) and Andrea (Zoë Saldana). Their story of illicit love soon interconnects with the Ridley family tale of corruption and teen angst, turning the islands from a haven to a dangerously flawed paradise.
Filmed in 29 days by an up-and-coming director of only 26-years-old, "Haven" makes an epic name for Caribbean filmmaking. In fact, writer/director Flowers grew up in the Cayman Islands. His inspiration for the movie developed through personal experiences, stories from friends and passed-on tales of sorrow and peril from around the islands. "Haven" effectively illustrates Cayman life in its richest, most cultural, and yet devastating state.
Unique cinematography is what makes the "Haven" experience so enrapturing. Quick angle changes, documentary-like movements, and extensive use of the "close-up" view create a sense of mystery and confusion, causing audiences to feel wonderfully trapped in the chaotic Cayman world. Flowers also plays with non-linear time, in ways comparable to movies like "Pulp Fiction" and "Crash."
But it brings new innovation to this style, beginning the film with one plot-line and waiting nearly a half hour before introducing the next. Audiences may be initially confused by the weaving storylines, but when Ridley's tale connects with that of Shy and Andrea, you are surely left breathless by the results.
