John Hodge

The Beach is a 2000 drama thriller film directed by Danny Boyle and based on the 1996 novel of the same name by Alex Garland, which was adapted for the film by John Hodge. The film stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Tilda Swinton, Virginie Ledoyen, Guillaume Canet, and Robert Carlyle. It was filmed on the Thai island Koh Phi Phi.

PLOT
Richard, a young American seeking adventure in Bangkok, stays in a drab travelers' hotel in Khao San Road where he meets a young French couple, Françoise and Étienne, and he immediately becomes attracted to Françoise. He also meets the eccentric Daffy, who tells him of a pristine, uninhabited and restricted island in the Gulf of Thailand with a beautiful hidden beach and lagoon. Daffy explains that he and other travelers settled there in secret several years earlier, but difficulties arose and he chose to leave. Daffy commits suicide, leaving Richard a map to the island. Richard convinces Françoise and Étienne to accompany him to the island, and the three travel to Ko Samui. After getting locked out of his bungalow during a thunderstorm, Richard meets two American surfers who have heard rumors of the island, including huge amounts of cannabis supposedly growing there. Before departing, Richard leaves them a copy of the map.

En route to the island, Richard becomes infatuated with Françoise. After swimming to the island from a neighboring one, they find a large cannabis plantation guarded by armed Thai farmers. Avoiding detection, they make their way across the island and meet English cricket fan Keatey where they are welcomed and surprised to see a fully functioning community of travelers living on the island, totally in secret. Sal, the community's English leader, explains that the farmers allow them to stay so long as they keep to themselves and do not allow any more travelers to come to the island but more travelers came over the years, evading the farmers and settling there. Richard lies that they have not shown the map to anyone else, which satisfies Sal. The trio become integrated into the largely self-sufficient and leisurely community.

One night, while the community are occupied, Françoise invites Richard to the beach where the relationship becomes romantic and they have sex. Despite hoping to keep it secret, everyone finds out and while angry, Étienne says he will not stand in their way if Françoise is happier with Richard. Tensions rise between Richard and Sal's South African boyfriend Bugs; when Richard gains popularity by killing a shark, Bugs mocks him over the shark's small size but Richard mocks him back for his jealousy.

TECHNICAL INFORMATION

DVD Video

Format: PAL

Region: 2

Colour

Sound Format: Dolby Digital 5.1

Aspect Ratio: 16:9 Widescreen - 2.35:1

Playing time: (approximately) 119 minutes

Audio: English

Subtitles: Swedish (Svenska), Danish, Finnish, Norwegian, Portuguese, Hebrew, Polish, Tjeckiska, Hungarian, Icelandic,

Published by: 20TH CENTURY FOX

UPC: (streck kod - barcode) 5600304163293… (altro)

he cryptic film title is a reference to a scene (not included in the film) in the original book, where Begbie and Renton meet 'an auld drunkard' who turns out to be Begbie's estranged father, in the disused Leith Central railway station, which they are using as a toilet. He asks them if they are "trainspottin'."[31]
Irvine Welsh himself has explained in a Q&A that the title is also a reference to people thinking that the hobby of trainspotting makes no sense to non-participants. Likewise, the same applies to heroin addiction: to non-addicts the act seems completely pointless whereas, to someone hooked on heroin, it makes absolute sense.… (altro)