shark-43 Review of The Golden Seal

The Golden Seal (1983)

Unusual Mix of intense drama, adventure and cute animal movie

[7/10 · 3 February 2007]

This film is gorgeous to look at because of the on location cinematography at the Aleutian islands. I found it interesting to read the other comments and obviously this film strikes a chord with people and it makes many feel "off" or uncomfortable. But that is what I liked about it - it is very real and has real situations between adults and adults and kids. Yes, Stve Railsback has been cursed since he nailed playing Manson in Helter Skelter - an amazing performance and he was beyond convincing. Which is why he freaked people out. Hes' been good in other films, most notably The Stunt Man - a funny dark film with Peter O'Toole as crazed film director. But the way the film deals with nature, tradition but most of all ISOLATION is very smart and I feel you can enjoy this with your kids if they are age appropriate - 8 and up. My 8 and 11 year old liked it very much and we talked about it afterwards and how the boy felt so strongly about doing what was right that he would stand up to his Father like that. The film also has a very good message about money and how it isn't everything. The mom makes that clear that what she truly, dearly needs is her family. That is what is important. Plus there is a beautiful seal and she has a baby and the baby is adorable - but sandwiching all the cute animal footage is a serious drama and I can see how a few would find it strange bedfellows. But overall, well made, well acted - the lead kid is at times hokey and hammy but other times, really nails the difficult scenes.