THE BLUE LAGOON: THE AWAKENING

US, 2012, 85 minutes, Colour.
Indiana Evans, Brenton Thwaites, Denise Richards, Christopher Atkins.
Directed by Jack Newsome, Mikael Salomon.

The Blue Lagoon: the Awakening is a made for television movie. It is based on the novel by H. De Vere Stackpole which was filmed in 1948 with Jean Simmons and Donald Houston, in 1979 with Brooke Shields and Christopher Atkins. A sequel, Return to the Blue Lagoon was filmed in 1991 with Milla Jovovich. Each of these films was set in the 19th century.

This film is an update to the American present. A group of high school students, quite raucous and permissive in their behavior, go to the Caribbean to help with a school building project. The focus is on two of them, Emma, played by Australian Indiana Evans, and Dean, played by Australian Brenton Thwaites. She is conscientious about her studies, not interested in relationships. Her mother, played by Denise Richards, is concerned about her. On the other hand, Dean is an outsider, attracted to Emma, with a father who is busy about business matters.

They go on board a boat, without notifying authorities. Emma falls overboard. Dean dives in to save her. They drift away in a lifeboat, without a motor. Eventually they land on an island and have to make do. The relationship is antagonistic. Eventually, they begin to understand each other, talk and communicate. She wants comfort as they search for a hotel. They discover that they are isolated on the island.

The film echoes the core of the plot of the original. They build a shelter, put out signs for rescue, become more friendly, begin a sexual relationship, the first for her.

In the meantime, the parents organise a search. The officials call off the search after a long period. However, Dean’s father is wealthy enough to pay a man to search by helicopter and plane.

The discovery and rescue take place in a comparatively short time. However, when they return, Dean is still the outsider, Emma becomes the centre of attention. There is a reconciliation with parents. Ultimately, at a party, Emma comes out to join Dean.

The film was made in Hawaii, with Australian leads. Christopher Atkins, who played Richard in the 1979 film, plays one of the teachers.

The film is comparatively slight, at times echoes the Spring Break kind of teenage film. It is really not very much of a film.