Pascali's Island (1988)

64% of critics liked it
(11 reviews)
77% of users liked it
(240 ratings)

The year is 1908; after centuries of unchecked power, the Ottoman empire is rapidly crumbling. As a result, Turkey's secret agents--those that haven't already been eliminated by downsizing or death--operate in a vacuum, their superiors knowing little and caring less about their activities. One such… More The year is 1908; after centuries of unchecked power, the Ottoman empire is rapidly crumbling. As a result, Turkey's secret agents--those that haven't already been eliminated by downsizing or death--operate in a vacuum, their superiors knowing little and caring less about their activities. One such spy is Ben Kingsley, a minor bureaucrat of no ambition. When ordered to help disreputable English citizens Charles Dance and Helen Mirren in the theft of a precious Greek artifact, Kingsley goes along without question. He is even prepared to follow orders and double-cross Dance the moment the robbery is pulled off. But as the film progresses, Kingsley becomes less and less of a by-the-book government functionary and more and more of an enigma--to Dance, to Mirren, to his country, to himself. More than your usual "caper" film, Pascali's Island has more layers than an artichoke. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

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Rating, Runtime: PG-13, 1 hr. 46 min.
Directed By: James Dearden
Genres: Mystery & Suspense, Drama

In Theaters: Aug 1, 1988 Wide
Studio: Live Home Video

Critic Reviews

Variety Staff, Variety
Despite an eye-catching but mannered central performance from Ben Kingsley, looms as too languid and remote to make much impact.
Caryn James, New York Times
Slow and stately, Pascali's Island never gets beneath its own superficial gentility.
Rita Kempley, Washington Post
A literary adaptation that takes itself so seriously one longs for Gilligan and the Skipper.
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
It is a mood piece, meditative, in which even the melodrama of the plot grows out of the flawed souls of the characters. Everything in a film like this depends on performance, and it is hard to imagine how it could have been better cast.
Desson Thomson, Washington Post
Helen Mirren has always been good at playing sexy eccentrics. But it is Kingsley's performance, as the despairing victim of his own actions, that makes this island worth a visit.
Derek Adams, Time Out
The milieu may seem remote but the performances illuminate, and the story has an originality that compensates for the modest budget.
Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat, Spirituality and Practice
A literate, well-acted movie set in 1908 that conveys how difficult and disarming it is to live in a world where no one can be trusted.