''The Shell Seekers'' () is a 2006

mini-series In the United States, a miniseries or mini-series is a television show or series that tells a story in a predetermined, limited number of episodes. Many miniseries can also be referred to, and shown, as a television film. " Limited series" is ...

starring

Academy Award The Academy Awards, commonly known as the Oscars, are awards for artistic and technical merit in film. They are presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS) in the United States in recognition of excellence ...

-winners,

Vanessa Redgrave Dame Vanessa Redgrave (born 30 January 1937) is an English actress. In her career spanning over six decades, she has garnered List of awards and nominations received by Vanessa Redgrave, numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, a Tony A ...

and

Maximilian Schell Maximilian Schell (8 December 1930 – 1 February 2014) was a Swiss actor. Born in First Austrian Republic, Austria, his parents were involved in the arts and he grew up surrounded by performance and literature. While he was still a child, his fa ...

. The British-German co-production was directed by

Piers Haggard Piers Inigo Haggard, OBE (18 March 1939 – 11 January 2023) was a British director who worked in film, television, and theatre. Early life A member of the Haggard family, he was born in London, the son of Morna Gillespie and the actor, poet ...

. It is an adaptation of

Rosamunde Pilcher Rosamunde Pilcher, OBE (''née'' Scott; 22 September 1924 – 6 February 2019) was a British novelist, best known for her sweeping novels set in Cornwall. Her books have sold over 60 million copies worldwide. Early in her career she was publis ...

's 1987 novel of the same name and premiered on Germany's

ZDF ZDF (), short for (; ), is a German public-service television broadcaster based in Mainz, Rhineland-Palatinate. Launched on 1 April 1963, it is run as an independent nonprofit institution, and was founded by all federal states of Germany ( ...

on 25 December 2006. It was screened in the United States on the

Hallmark Channel Hallmark Channel is an American cable television network owned by Hallmark Media, a subsidiary of Hallmark Cards. The channel broadcasts family-oriented general entertainment programming, including television series and made-for-TV movies. ...

on 3 May 2008.

Plot

Set in the 1980s, Penelope (Redgrave) is seen to be recovering from a

heart attack A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...

. Through a series of flashbacks, we learn she is the daughter of Lawrence (Schell), an acclaimed painter. Her children attempt to convince her to sell her father's paintings and ease their financial burdens. As Penelope continues to recover she reflects on her life, as a disillusioned wife and briefly enthralled lover. She embarks on a trip to the Mediterranean where she encounters Antonia (Stumph), whom she meets up with later on in the book, who becomes a woman in the grip of a passionate romance, something Penelope realises she briefly enjoyed.The Shell Seekers Review
Variety. 29 April 2008

Cast

as Penelope Keeling *

as Lawrence Sterne *

Sebastian Koch Sebastian Koch is a German television and film actor. He is known for roles in the 2007 Academy Award-winning film '' The Lives of Others'', in Steven Spielberg's '' Bridge of Spies'', and as Otto Düring in the fifth season of the Showtime s ...

as Cosmo König *

Victoria Hamilton Victoria Hamilton (born 5 April 1971) is an English actress known for her roles in theatre and period dramas. Training at the London Academy of Music and Dramatic Art, Hamilton began appearing in productions with the Royal Shakespeare Company a ...

as Nancy Chamberlaine * Stephanie Stumph as Antonia König *

Victoria Smurfit Victoria Smurfit (born 31 March 1974) is an Irish actress. She is known for playing Orla O'Connell in the BBC television series '' Ballykissangel'', Detective Chief Inspector Roisin Connor in the ITV police procedural '' Trial & Retribution'' ...

as Olivia Keeling * Charles Edwards as Noel Keeling *

Alastair Mackenzie Alastair John Mackenzie (born 8 February 1970) is a Scottish actor and writer. Early life Alastair Mackenzie was born in Trinafour, near Perth, and educated at Westbourne House School and Glenalmond College in Perthshire. He left home at ...

as Richard *

Prunella Scales Prunella Margaret Rumney West Scales (''née'' Illingworth; born 22 June 1932) is an English retired actress. She portrayed Sybil Fawlty, the bossy wife of Basil Fawlty (John Cleese), in the BBC comedy ''Fawlty Towers'' and Queen Elizabeth ...

as Dolly Keeling * Richard Hope as George Chamberlaine * Toby Fisher as Ambrose Keeling *Cherith Mellor as Mrs. Plackett *Hugh Sachs as Roy Brookner

Production

The mini-series was shot in 2005 in a range of locations such as

Cornwall Cornwall (; or ) is a Ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county in South West England. It is also one of the Celtic nations and the homeland of the Cornish people. The county is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, ...

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

and Wales.

Reception

Variety Variety may refer to: Arts and entertainment Entertainment formats * Variety (radio) * Variety show, in theater and television Films * ''Variety'' (1925 film), a German silent film directed by Ewald Andre Dupont * ''Variety'' (1935 film), ...

'' made comparisons between the series and Redgrave's 2007 film, ''

Atonement Atonement, atoning, or making amends is the concept of a person taking action to correct previous wrongdoing on their part, either through direct action to undo the consequences of that act, equivalent action to do good for others, or some othe ...

''. The magazine praised her casting, as Redgrave "delivers a fine, flinty performance". It concluded that "the melancholy ending caps it with a satisfying exclamation point." Redgrave was awarded Best Actress in a Television Film at the Shanghai International TV Festival.Awards for The Shell Seekers
IMDB. Retrieved on 3 September 2010

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Shell Seekers 2006 films 2006 television films 2006 drama films German drama television films 2000s British television miniseries 2000s German television miniseries 2000s English-language films English-language German films 2000s German-language films British English-language television shows German-language television shows Films set in the 1980s Films shot in London Films shot in Wales Films based on British novels Television shows based on British novels ZDF original programming 2000s British films 2000s German films British drama television films