Crusoe

Former cinematographer Caleb Deschanel (The Black Stallion, The Natural) moves out from behind the camera and into the director's chair in this beautifully filmed update of Daniel Defoe's classic story of a shipwrecked sailor. Aidan Quinn (Reckless, Desperately Seeking Susan) stars as Crusoe, an insensitive slave trader circa 1808, who decides to make a fall journey because of hot prices on slaves. Shipwrecked on a deserted island with his dog Skip, Crusoe has the tables turned on him, when a tribe of black headhunters alight on the island to perform a ritual funeral, and happen upon the white man. When the former slave hunter becomes the hunted, Crusoe is forced to re-examine his prejudices. Crusoe is, first and foremost, a joy to look at. But it is also an enjoyable film in its own right, thanks to the offbeat comic performance by Quinn. In one hilarious sequence, he and his dog are eating dinner, when they both hear noises outside. After ordering the dog to go check it out, Quinn points his pistol at the dog's head, and repeats his command--still, to no avail. The instinctual use of the threat of force is only one of the attitudes that undergoes a grand sea change in this delightful movie. Recommended. (R. Pitman)