'' Salt on Our Skin'' is a 1992 erotic romantic

drama film In film and television, drama is a category or genre of narrative fiction (or semi-fiction) intended to be more serious than humorous in tone. Drama of this kind is usually qualified with additional terms that specify its particular super ...

, directed by

Andrew Birkin Andrew Timothy Birkin (born 9 December 1945) is an English screenwriter and director. He was born the only son of Lieutenant-Commander David Birkin and his wife, actress Judy Campbell. One of his sisters is the actress and singer Jane Birkin. ...

, starring

Greta Scacchi Greta Scacchi, OMRI (; born 18 February 1960) is an Italian-Australian actress. She holds dual Italian and Australian citizenship. She is best known for her roles in the films '' White Mischief'' (1987), '' Presumed Innocent'' (1990), '' The Pl ...

and

Vincent D'Onofrio Vincent Philip D'Onofrio (; born June 30, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker. He is known for his supporting and leading roles in both film and television. He has been nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award. His roles include Private Leonar ...

. The film is based on

Benoîte Groult Benoîte Groult (31 January 1920 – 20 June 2016) was a French journalist, writer, and feminist activist. Life and career Groult was born on 31 January 1920 in Paris. She was the daughter of André Groult and Nicole Poiret, sister of Paul Poir ...

’s novel ''Les vaisseaux du coeur'' published in 1988. The plot follows the passionate relationship between mismatched lovers, a Parisian intellectual woman and a Scottish fisherman, brought together by lust. Their passionate encounters over 30 years make both their lives worth living. Scacchi and D'Onofrio were a real life couple at that time.

Plot

On the death of her lover, George McEwan, a half French/half Scottish woman, recounts in flashback her passionate relationship with Gavin McCall, a humble fisherman. Their romance goes back in time more than thirty years. In the 1950s, George, then a vivacious young woman living in France, comes to Scotland to spend her long summer vacation with her younger sister, Frédérique. While helping the locals take in the straw, she meets an attractive and simple man Gavin, whose sister, Mary, becomes one of her friends. Smitten with each other, George and Gavin begin a torrid affair going for a moonlit swim. As the summer ends, George and her sister return to attend school in Paris where they live with their parents. Mary asks the two sisters to be her bridesmaids. Back in Scotland for Mary's wedding, George and Gavin continue their romance escaping the wedding celebration on a cave at the seashore. Months later, back in France, George is surprised by Gavin's visit. She shows him Paris while they continue their love affair. He asks her to marry him but she refuses. George wants to study at the Sorbonne and pursue her intellectual goals. She does not see herself as the wife of a fisherman in a Scottish Village. Realizing that, for her, the cultural and life style differences between them are too great to overcome, she refuses his marriage proposal. Their lives take separate ways and they stop seeing each other. George becomes an intellectual and feminist activist. She marries and has a son. Ten years later, George, now divorced, moves to Quebec pursuing an academic career teaching and writing a book on women's studies. Her second marriage to Sidney, an intellectual, proves to be dry and ends in divorce. George's friend, Ellen, a fellow feminist writer, invites her to accompany her for a summer trip to England. On a street in London, she comes across Gavin once again. He still resents her refusal to marry him a decade ago. She would like to rekindle their romance. Gavin, hurt and still in love with her, initially refuses. Soon, however, he has a changed of heart and accepts to go with George to a romantic vacation in Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands. From then on, they begin to meet each other with some frequency through the years, loving each other despite their differences. Scotland, Montreal, and the St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church in Florida, served as the background for their encounters. George and Gavin's romance ends abruptly with his death. At the funeral, Josie, Gavin's widow, gives George a letter Gavin left to her. It reads: Before you came into my life, I believed that each day resembled the other, and that they would continue this way until I died. Since you, and don't ask me to explain, I only know that I want you in my arms from time to time if you wanted too. The thought that you exist somewhere and that you think about me sometimes helps me to live...

Cast

as George McEwan *

as Gavin McCall *

Shirley Henderson Shirley Henderson (born 24 November 1965) is a Scottish actress. Her accolades include two Scottish BAFTAs, a VFCC Award and an Olivier Award, as well as BAFTA, BIFA, London Critics' Circle, Chlotrudis, Gotham, and Canadian Screen Award ...

as Mary McCall *Anaïs Jeanneret as Frédérique McEwan *Petra Berndt as Josie *

Claudine Auger Claudine Auger (born Claudine Oger; 26 April 1941 – 18 December 2019) was a French actress best known for her role as a Bond girl, Dominique "Domino" Derval, in the James Bond film '' Thunderball'' (1965). She earned the title of Miss F ...

as Mrs. McEwan *Laszlo I. Kish as Angus *Barbara Jones as Ellen *Rolf Illig as Mr. McEwan *

Hanns Zischler Hanns Zischler (born 18 June 1947) is a German actor known for his portrayal of Hans in Steven Spielberg's film ''Munich''. According to the Internet Movie Database, Zischler has appeared in 171 movies since 1968. He is known in Sweden for his r ...

as Sidney *Barbara Jones as Ellen *

Charles Berling Charles Berling (born 30 April 1958) is a French actor, director and screenwriter. Life and career Charles Berling, son of a navy doctor, is also the nephew of the literary critic Raymond Picard. His mother, Nadia, "only daughter of (French) s ...

as Roger *Sandra Voe as Mrs. McCall *Philip Pretten as Al *Kerry Harris as Daniel

Reception

The film was shot in

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple ...

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

, Saint Thomas, U.S. Virgin Islands,

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

and at St. Bernard de Clairvaux Church in North Miami Beach. It premiered in Germany on 17 September 1992. In the United States it was released under the title ''Desire''. The film was a commercial disappointment. It was also ill-received by film critics who single out the credibility and motivations of the main characters.Allon & Patterson, '' Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide'', p. 30

DVD release

''Salt on Our Skin'' is available on Region 2 DVD in Germany and Italy.

References

;Notes ;Bibliography *Allon, Yoram and Patterson, Hannah '' Contemporary British and Irish Film Directors: A Wallflower Critical Guide''. Wallflower Pres, 2002.

External links

* *{{Rotten Tomatoes, salt_on_our_skin 1992 films Erotic romance films Films set in Scotland Films set in France Films shot in Montreal Films shot in Scotland Films shot in the United States Virgin Islands Films shot in Paris Films shot in Florida Films based on French novels Films produced by Bernd Eichinger Films scored by Klaus Doldinger English-language French films English-language German films German erotic drama films French erotic drama films 1990s English-language films 1990s French films 1990s German films