Stranded Pearl: Rom-com made in the Pacific

Roughly seven in 10 people say they enjoy rom-coms. I read that somewhere.

When the late Dr John Nash Jr - winner of the 1994 Nobel Prize in Economics for his work on game theory - said it's only in the mysterious affairs of the heart that all logic of anything can be found, I don't think he had Stranded Pearl on his mind.

But that's what Stranded Pearl is. A light-hearted romantic adventure about a woman who realises that she hasn't lived life after getting stranded on a deserted island in the South Pacific.

She meets a local reclusive man who has closed himself off from the world because he is hiding from the pain of his past.

The movie stars Aunanda Naaido (Curry Munchers 2011 and Feeling Lucky 2016), a Fiji-born Rarotonga resident and the film’s producer.

His leading lady Australian actress Kristy Wright is from Home and Away fame, Chuck Finn, Above the Law and Something in the Air.

She's also featured in Crash Palace as well as a political satire called Corridors of Power.

Following this success she was picked up to feature in an American TV show, Beastmaster as a ninja warrior. She also appeared in a short film, Sweet Dreams.

She worked on an episode of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle's - The Lost World and has also featured in the Australian drama, The Alice.

She had a minor role as the handmaiden Moteé in Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith.

Stranded Pearl is an island paradise mixed with big business, complex characters, love, and betrayal.

Set in the stunning scenery of the Cook Islands, the movie is not short of drama, action, fiction, and comedy at every turn.

Aunanda Naaido and Kristy Wright star in Stranded Pearl. Photo/supplied

Review

Stranded Pearl was well received by the invite-only media audience at its NZ premiere in Auckland on Wednesday.

The applause at the end was a show of appreciation for the effort that went into the impressive technical cinematography.

But the feature film left me feeling good only because seeing and feeling the beauty of the islands and the picturesque scenes around the beaches, lagoons, reefs, and mountains made me homesick.

The obvious flaw is the fictitious portrayal of the Cook Islands as a habitat for creepy crawlies and blood-sucking leeches.

Then there was Sid's encounter with a shark as big as "Jaws", which left him walking to the shore with the maneater nowhere to be seen. Did he really kill it?

And why was Julia going on a boat to a nearby atoll dressed as if she were headed to the office?

It took three-quarters through the film to realise that the devious corporate plot to exploit and develop the island paradise was the back story to the drama. Is it too late to re-edit to fix the screenplay?

On a positive note, Naaido has a talented cast around him like Rawiri Paratene (Whale Rider), Robert Reitano, Stan Wolfgramm, and Ray Woolf. But they did not get to downplay their parts and roles.

Stranded Pearl’s genre is confusing and would be better promoted as a romantic comedy than a feature film. Will it struggle to deliver value and return to its funders and sponsors? Time will tell.

Stranded Pearl is set for release in New Zealand cinemas on 12 September.

A re-edit of this production could be the best way forward before it hits the big screen.

Photo/supplied