Most Beautiful Island
Most Beautiful Island | |
---|---|
Directed by | Ana Asensio |
Written by | Ana Asensio |
Produced by | Ana Asensio Larry Fessenden Noah Greenberg Chadd Harbold Jenn Wexler |
Starring | Ana Asensio Natasha Romanova David Little Nicholas Tucci Larry Fessenden Caprice Benedetti |
Cinematography | Noah Greenberg |
Edited by | Carl Ambrose Francisco Bello |
Music by | Jeffery Alan Jones |
Production company | Glass Eye Pix |
Distributed by | Orion Pictures Samuel Goldwyn Films |
Release dates |
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Running time | 80 minutes[1] |
Country | United States |
Language | English |
Most Beautiful Island is a 2017 American drama film written and directed by Ana Asensio. The film stars Ana Asensio, Natasha Romanova,[2] David Little, Nicholas Tucci, Larry Fessenden and Caprice Benedetti. The film was released on November 3, 2017, by Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films. Most Beautiful Island was nominated for the John Cassavetes Award at the 2018 Film Independent Spirit Awards.[3]
Plot summary
Luciana is an
Luciana arrives at the address Olga provided her, where she's led into a basement, provided a locked purse, and given a second address to go to late that evening. Unable to pay cab fare, Luciana tricks a driver into providing her a ride, then hides her belongings in a garbage can when the
Luciana witnesses women being led into another room, with some leaving holding large stacks of money; others fail to leave after emitting frightened screams. Asking to use the bathroom, Luciana attempts to escape, but is brought back to the room with the other women. Eventually, she and Olga are brought into a chamber with a glass coffin surrounded by men and women. A master of ceremonies explains that the venue is an underground betting parlor where individuals wager on the outcome of extreme scenarios. Opening Olga and Luciana's purses, he removes a pair of venomous spiders, and explains that each woman will take turns lying nude in the coffin with the spider on top of them for a predetermined interval; the other woman will be tasked with making sure the spider maintains skin contact. Luciana goes first, successfully lying still and winning her round. During her round, Olga begins panicking and begging for the spider to be removed, but Luciana saves her by exploiting a loophole in the game's rules and holding the spider herself. Olga technically wins her round and both women are paid large sums of money for their success. In the aftermath of the game, the head of the organization praises Luciana for her ingenuity and tells Olga that she will be her replacement. Luciana takes her money and flees, collecting her belongings from the trash.
Cast
- Ana Asensio as Luciana
- Natasha Romanova as Olga
- David Little as Doctor Horowitz
- Nicholas Tucci as Niko
- Larry Fessenden as Rudy
- Caprice Benedetti as Vanessa
- Anna Myrha as Nadia
- Ami Sheth as Benedita
- Miriam A. Hyman as Bikie
- Sara Visser as Katarin
- Natalia Zvereva as Ewa
- Sorika Horng as Mai
- Fenella A. Chudoba as Alina
- David Sereroas Dominic
Release
The film premiered at South by Southwest on March 12, 2017.[1][4] On June 20, 2017, Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films acquired distribution rights to the film.[5] The film was released on November 3, 2017, by Orion Pictures and Samuel Goldwyn Films.[6]
Reception
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of 93% based on 44 reviews with an average rating of 7.01/10. The site's consensus reads: "Most Beautiful Island plunges audiences into a little-seen sector of society, with writer-director Ana Asensio's fearless performance leading the way".[7] On Metacritic, the film has a score of 73 out of 100 based on 11 critics indicating "generally favorable reviews".[8]
References
- ^ a b Peter Debruge (2017-03-19). "'Most Beautiful Island' Review: SXSW Competition Winner". Variety. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ "Natasha Romanova plays breakout lead role in SXSW film festival Grand Jury award winner Most Beautiful Island". Film Industry Network. 2017-03-18.
- ^ "Independent Spirit Awards winners 2018: See the full list".
- ^ "'Most Beautiful Island' Review | SXSW 2017". Hollywood Reporter. 2017-03-15. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ Hipes, Patrick (2017-06-20). "SXSW Winner 'Most Beautiful Island' Acquired By Orion & Samuel Goldwyn". Deadline. Retrieved 2017-07-03.
- ^ Clark Collis (2017-09-25). "Watch the trailer for psychological thriller 'Most Beautiful Island'". Ew.com. Retrieved 2017-11-05.
- ^ "Most Beautiful Island (2017)". Rotten Tomatoes. Retrieved 2019-10-18.
- ^ "Most Beautiful Island Reviews". Metacritic. Retrieved 2019-10-18.