Stephen Arnell

10 films set by the seaside

  • From Spectator Life
Billy Connolly in What We Did on Our Holiday Photo: Moviestore/Shutterstock

If the sun is shining and the likelihood that all holiday destinations barring the South Sandwich Islands will probably be on the amber or red lists, the prospect of a British seaside break doesn’t look half bad.

Of course, 50 per cent of the UK population will be thinking the same thing, so be prepared for packed beaches, overpriced hotels, melting Mr Whippys, undercooked burgers and screaming children. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

To get you in the mood, here are ten motion pictures that feature the sea. 

A Bigger Splash (2015) Amazon Prime, Rent/Buy

The sun-drenched island beaches of tiny Pantelleria (formerly a favourite place of exile for undesirables during the reigns of Roman Emperor Augustus and Mussolini, lately a staging post for refugees from nearby North Africa) is the setting for Luca Guadagnino’s loose remake of French psychological thriller La Piscine (1969).

Frequent Guadagnino collaborator Tilda Swinton plays rock star Marianne, who is seeking to put her life together after a suicide attempt, various addictions and surgery which has left her virtually speechless.

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