Retro Film Review: The Stone Raft (La balsa de piedra, 2002)

The author of this review lived in a country whose political leadership was willing to do anything in order to join Europe. Against this backdrop, it was entertaining to see The Stone Raft, a 2002 Dutch-Spanish-Portuguese film adapted from the novel by Portuguese writer Jose Saramago, which delved into an opposite scenario.

The plot commences with a crevice emerging in the Pyrenees Mountains, causing the Iberian Peninsula to gradually drift apart from the European mainland. Concurrently, five individuals begin experiencing inexplicable phenomena: an elderly pharmacist detects imperceptible earthquakes, a man demonstrates remarkable rock-throwing abilities, a woman struggles with unravelling a knitted sock, a young man attracts a persistent flock of birds, and another woman finds herself unable to erase lines drawn in the dust. United by these peculiar occurrences, the quintet embarks on a quest to unravel the mysteries surrounding them.

Jose Saramago, the esteemed Nobel Prize-winning author of the original novel, lends weight to the source material. However, The Stone Raft serves as a poignant reminder that not all literary gems translate seamlessly to the silver screen. George Sluizer, the renowned Dutch director behind two versions of The Vanishing, and his co-writer Yvette Biro seemingly grapple with the challenges of condensing voluminous pages into a feature film format. Consequently, the film swiftly loses its grip on the audience, mirroring the peninsula's drift from the continent. Despite the presence of intriguing characters portrayed by seasoned actors, notably Gabino Diego, their potential is squandered amidst convoluted dialogue and flat humour. The film vacillates awkwardly between disaster epic and satire, with its attempts to comment on Iberian and European politics feeling contrived and ineffective, particularly for viewers unacquainted with European affairs. The purportedly "symbolic" conclusion, akin to the rest of the production, falls short of expectations. While commendable performances salvage some aspects of the film, The Stone Raft ultimately emerges as a pretentious misfire destined to fade into obscurity.

RATING: 3/10 (+)

(Note: Original version of the review is available here.)

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