netflixed

When I was a wee lad my father kept the current issue of Playboy on the back of the john. This is the only fond memory I have of him. The other day I remembered a Kris Kristofferson/Sarah Miles photo spread that was exceptionally interesting for a six-year-old, and then I Googled the pair to see if I could find the movie associated with that photo spread.

The Sailor Who Fell From Grace With the Sea is a most peculiar film. I rather liked it, though it seems "of" the '70s in a way that locks it firmly into that epoch, much like Play Misty for Me or The Little Girl Who Lives Down the Lane. Based on a Yukio Mishima novel, the cast features one of the all-time great child villains, an amoral elitist who experiments on cats a la the young Bill Frist. When widow Sarah Miles falls for a Yankee sailor, her son and his compadres are at first curious, then indifferent, and finally outwardly hostile to Kristofferson's sea-faring hero. I'll say no more to avoid spoiling your fun!