EYES OF THE AMARYLLIS
US, 1982, 84 minutes, Colour.
Ruth Ford, Martha Byrne, Guy Boyd, Katharine Houghton.
Directed by Frederick King Keller.
Eyes of the Amaryllis is an atmospheric story, set in 1880, on the sea coast of New England. It focuses on a grandmother who has lost her husband and waits on the shore for some sign of his return. It concerns a granddaughter who comes to live with her grandmother and shares her experiences. While the atmosphere is realistic, there is an atmosphere of suggestion of things more than normal with a touch of ghostly experience. It is beautifully photographed and acted, one of those exquisite short stories brought to the screen with dignity and taste.
1. New England story? The 19th century? Adults and child? Mystery? Ghosts?
2. Location photography, the island of Nantucket, the sea, the seasons and the weather, the town, the house? The musical score?
3. The situation with the grandmother: waiting by the sea, finding the box, breaking her ankle, her son coming to see her, wanting her granddaughter?
4. George and Jenny, father and daughter, the sea, his fear, letting his daughter go for three weeks, not wanting her to go into the sea?
5. The arrival, Jenny and the sea, his warnings, George and the discussions with his mother, arguments, accusations of madness, Jenny at the sea?
6. The grandmother and Jenny, their talking and sharing, the story of the ship, the paintings, the mystery and the waiting, waking early in the morning, the dawn vigils, the tides and their changes, waiting for signs, Jenny fascinated by the sea and the stories? The grandmother's regrets? The symbol of the flower of the Amaryllis?
7. The women of the town, their talking, revealing the truth about the grandmother and Jenny hearing?
8. Isabel and her visit, her rudeness, the relationship with Nick Irving and his suicide?
9. The man wandering the beach, his name, the fact that he was Nick, telling Jenny his story, the love, the experience of drowning, going down to the depth of the sea, coming alive again, walking the sea shore, watching for the sign?
10. Atmosphere of foreboding, the sign of the ship's head, the grandmother's image? Finding it, the grandmother and her beliefs, the storm, the flooding of the house, throwing back the sign into the sea?
11. The change, George coming to help them, the grandmother deciding to leave, Jenny and her experience of the sea, going down and finding the Amaryllis?
12. The mystery of the sea, the coastal communities, fear, regrets, acceptance, love? Seen through a child's eyes?
