The Beach

The Beach (Boyle, 2000)

The Beach is a film based on the novel of the same name by Alex Garland. The film follows a young American; Richard, travelling around Thailand. In his travels he meets Francoise and Etienne, a French couple, whom he travels to a mysterious island with. The island (and the ‘beach’) was first mentioned to him by Daffy, an unhinged Scotsman who leaves a copy of a map to the beach to Richard after his suicide, Daffy reappears to Richard in various hallucinations throughout the film.

The film is fully narrated by Richard, and we hear his thoughts and feelings while we travel with him. The film addresses issues concerning western and eastern cultures and how they can combine and clash, issues of identity and ‘paradise’ are also raised during the film, as well as man versus nature. The Beach also blurs the line between a ‘mainstream’ Hollywood film and an ‘art-film’; using techniques from both to entertain and inform the audience of the narrative. Bordwell notes that “Art-cinema narration has become a coherent mode partly by defining itself as a deviation from classical narrative” (Bordwell, (1985), p228), The Beach can be classed as a ‘Hollywood’ narrative; it follows a linear pattern and never really deviates from its main subject, Richard. The one thing that sets it aside from other Hollywood narratives is the characterisation of the protagonists. The characters appear to be similar to art cinema characters. Richard, the main character, is unsure of what he wants; the beach, Francoise or both. This goes against Bordwell’s notion of ‘classical narration’ in Hollywood cinema; the protagonist is usually the causal driving force, the primary source of identification for the audience and the source of narrative. (Bordwell, (1985), p.157) although Richard is the primary character, he does not conform to the Hollywood ‘leading man’ stereotype; he is unhappy and has no direction, the narration he provides over the scenes also makes the thoughts and feelings he experiences much more obvious to the audience, expressing his negativity and lack of direction. Kristin Thompson claims that “Hollywood protagonists tend to be active, to seek out goals and pursue them, rather than having those goals thrust upon them” ((1999) p.14). Richard is the exact opposite to this definition of Hollywood character; he is unaware of his goals or what he wants. Until given a task by Sal to get back the map from the surfers, Richard has had no ‘goals’ other than getting to the island, even at the end of the film, Richard and the islanders are told to leave by the farmers, rather than making the decision to move away from Sal’s dictatorship of their own accord. The characters in The Beach and in ‘Art Cinema’ are far less goal oriented than their Hollywood counterparts; the narrative in the film is pushed forward more by the characters’ development than cause and effect in general, or alternatively one could say that the ‘cause and effect’ is initiated by the characters; e.g. Richard leaves the map and the American surfers follow him to the secret island, which causes the inhabitants of the island to leave, rather than the cause being a problem and the effect being how to solve the problem. The idea of ‘the beach’ is also similar to an ‘art cinema’ storyline, the whole island is bathed in mystery, neither the audience or the characters know if it exists or is totally make believe, the film is more about personal discovery than a battle to save the island or to get the girl.

The first scene opens with a shot of Richard sitting on a bench bathed in white light. Above him are several numbers running along the top of the screen. The opening shot almost looks like film from a negative photo, enforcing the fact that Richard comes from a digital, technological culture. The differences between traditional eastern cultures and western cultures are highlighted when compared with the next image; the golden image of Buddha lying on its side, bringing the traditional culture of Thailand into the film, only to ignore it later in the westernized Thai market place, and throughout the film in general. While Richard is in front of the white light, people and vehicles blur past him, but when in front of the image of Buddha the cars and people seem to move a lot more slowly, reinforcing the cultural differences.
The opening scene also enforces the fact that we know nothing about our narrator, whether he is reliable, where he comes from or where he is going. The first time we see Richard he is in negative, the first lines he speaks are: “My name is Richard. So what else do you need to know? Stuff about my family, or where I'm from? None of that matters.”
The first scene establishes that we are on a journey as well as the characters, a journey of discovery about them; who they are, what their aims are and what they will do to get what they want. The voice over by Richard helps to impose the idea of travelling into the unknown without any plan or regard for consequences, or with people we trust.
Much like the characters of ‘art cinema’ the three main characters of The Beach are on a journey of self discovery, rather than to change or acquire something. This is apparent throughout the film, rather than ‘cause and effect’ being the main catalyst for plot and narrative, the characters cause the events, and have to deal with the effects. Richard seems to fulfil the roles of protagonist and antagonist by himself, supplying the map to American surfers Sammy and Zeph, and then assisting in getting them shot by the marijuana farmers, again blurring the lines between traditional Hollywood cinema and ‘Art-Cinema’ stereotypes. His character traits are also not what you would expect to find in leading man; he lies several times throughout the film to get out of trouble. He lies to Sal about the map several times and to Francoise about sleeping with Sal. The Beach also brings up questions about morals and the idea that they can be lost. When Christoph is bitten by the shark no one wants him in the camp and he is banished to the forest to die. The only person who maintains their moral grip on reality is Etienne, who stays with Christoph and looks after him, the rest of the tribe don’t want to be reminded of death or have their fun spoilt.

The scene in the market could be considered a typical technical ‘Hollywood’ scene, and is very much in keeping with the Hollywood traditions enforced and used in the film.
Another aspect of the film to consider is the major ‘star’ and the studio’s productions values. Leonardo DiCaprio is the major star of The Beach and at the time was a rising star in Hollywood; giving the film more publicity and added mainstream attention. The controversy surrounding the actual construction of ‘the beach’ also should be considered; the production company changed the landscape of where the film was set to make it a ‘paradise’, without considering the effects on nature, natural wildlife or the inhabitants. This factor should be considered when analysing the film’s themes and motifs; the idea of leaving your ‘old life’ behind and travelling somewhere to start a new life in ‘paradise’ like the island or the beach, without considering the implications of what you are about to do, or the effect cultures have on each other and how they can clash or blend together. The Thai market scene is a good example of how two cultures can mix and collide. Original Thai traditions are kept to back alleys, where as the western consumerist attitudes are thrust upon travellers, the traditional cultural aspects of Thailand like religion and the New Year celebrations have to make concessions for Western rituals like shopping, drinking and television. The use of a steadi-cam is allows us to fully explore the market, giving the audience the feel of the hustle and bustle. It also employs bright fluorescent lighting which is totally opposed to the shot of the Buddha lying down in the opening scene, the lighting in the scene almost gives the Buddha a golden glow and there is no hustle and bustle, the smooth tracking shot following Richard seems peaceful and serene, much like the image of Buddha, again enforcing the cultural traditions of Thailand. The traditions are forgotten when Richard arrives in the market, and the only mention of Thai culture is the celebration of the New Year with water, (although, this is only made clear in the deleted scenes), the rest of the market appears heavily westernized, and as Richard narrates he comments on the market, saying that you could pick up cheap knock offs and counterfeit watches of a westernized culture. Traditional cultural customs are kept in back alleys away from ‘tourists’, like the ‘snake blood’ sequence, and the attitude of the inhabitants of the secret island in general; they want to keep part of their culture hidden and undiluted by the tourists, this is further emphasised when we meet Daffy, who calls the guests at a hostel ‘parasites’ and ‘cancers’, referring to their tourist status, although they are just the same as the people living on the island.
The idea of a western culture consumerism remains on the island; it is shown when Richard collects shopping for the inhabitants when he goes with Sal to Ko Pang Yang. In the beginning scene Richard asks what the point of travelling across the world to check into a hotel will all the comforts of home is, and then when arriving back at the consumerist Ko Pang Yang, he collects things to make the inhabitants back on the island more comfortable, the reliance of their old lives making an impact on their new lives on the beach. Preconceptions about island life are also used; when Richard arrives he thought the island might be people living in relative squalor, in a cave or in mud huts or tents. This idea is further enforced when we first meet Keaty after the dive into the lagoon under the waterfall; he fulfils every stereotype of an Amazonian male warrior, but speaks with an English accent, bringing to our attention the different mix of cultures and languages that could be apparent on the island as well preconceptions about peoples lives before they arrived on the beach.
Languages are also an important part of the The Beach, in one scene in the hut the villagers are trying to learn a language from the large pool of different languages available (“I will ride for many miles on my bicycle tomorrow”). Languages are used to communicate in The Beach, and also to hide behind. When Swede Christoph has been bitten by the shark he reverts back to speaking Swedish, even though in many scenes we have seen and heard him talking English, he hides behind his language hoping that it will get him back to the mainland.

Colour is used a lot during the opening of The Beach; when in the market place, the lights surround Richard as he walks through, some of the colours are used as signifiers; when talking to the ‘snake-blood’ trader, both men are bathed in red light, possibly indicating danger. Red is used significantly throughout the film, the snake blood scene, the use of blood and the tent Christoph is banished to are all red, the use of red stands out because of colour of the beach and its surrounding, mostly greens, blues and browns, the use of red usually brings connotations of danger or blood. At the mainland when the surfers approach Richard they are bathed in red light, possible indicating a future event. Richard steals a red headband from one of the farmers, referencing Rambo, but also letting his presence in the jungle known to the farmers. Richard assumes the dominant male position in the community by killing a shark, as he tells the story through flashbacks; he is covered in the shark’s blood. Sal also frequently wears something that is coloured red.
After the shark attack on the beach red is a much more prominent colour throughout the rest of the film; there is a red scar across the beach where the injured fishermen have been dragged, possibly indicating that the beach or nature has had its revenge on the community for playing with nature and making fun of it through stories about killing sharks and ‘shaping’ the paradise they live in and using an island as their own personal playground, which is mirrored in the production trouble the director had with the setting he created and changed to shoot the film.
Colour is used in the opening scene to draw lines between the different cultures and traditions; the golden glow of the image of Buddha is warm and welcoming, whereas the environment from where Richard emerges is bleak, sterile and medical looking and the fluorescent lights of the market place and Ko Pang Yang are dazzling. The editing in Ko Pang Yang is also very fast when compared to the island, there are lots of shots in a short space of time of people falling in and out of nightclubs, throwing up and dancing to loud music. Some of the shots come in and out of focus and blur slightly to put the viewer on edge. When compared to the slow sweeping shots of island life the Ko Pang Yang scenes seem very intimidating, and further enforce the idea that island life is sacred, and paradise is exclusive, not everyone can experience it, and no one, including someone like Christoph who hunted for the community should be able to destroy the sanctity that Sal, Bugs and others have created.

The differences in culture are highlighted throughout the film by using mise-en-scene, the differences between traditional Hollywood films and Art-Cinema films are highlighted in the same way. The soundtrack changes between the hustle and bustle of the mainland and the market place to island life; island life being much more chilled out and almost tribal sounding, when compared to the heavy bass lines and dance music overheard in Ko Pang Yang and the market place at the opening. The lighting on the island seems a lot more natural, there isn’t the harshness of fluorescent light used in the market or the mainland, giving the islanders a softer glow, much like the image of Buddha in the opening scene. In one particular scene in the hut on the island, Sal lies in the same position as the image of Buddha in the opening, giving us the impression of an almost god like control and presence over the island and its inhabitants.
This established further when she exercises her control over the islanders, refusing to let one got to see a dentist, banishing Richard from the community until he retrieves the copied map and the other islander’s reluctance to return to the mainland to get Richard to accompany her. When Richard eventually goes to the mainland with Sal she acquires control over him when she finds out that he made a copy of the map, buying her silence with sexual intercourse.

Water is used in The Beach to signify rebirth or a new life. When Richard, Etienne and Francoise jump from the waterfall their new life on the beach begins. The first time Richard and Francoise have sex is in the lagoon in front of the beach, they emerge from the water and begin a relationship. This idea is repeated during the final scene where the former inhabitants of the island float home on a raft and water is used to ‘cleanse’ Richard after he has seen the American surfers shot by the farmers, after the plunge into the pool underneath the waterfall he realises that he and his two French companions must leave the island. The first time Richard and Francoise have sex is in the lagoon in front of the beach, they emerge from the water and begin a relationship. The idea of new life coming form or out of water could be carried through from the Thai celebrating New Year with water, washing off the old year and beginning a new one with a fresh mind start.

According to Bordwell “the art film tends to deal with real contemporary problems such as ‘alienation’ or ‘lack of communication’” (Cook, (1999), p108). The themes of The Beach also address contemporary issues; culture, the notion of paradise and its cost, and our notion of adventure and self. The Beach looks at what Bordwell considers ‘art cinema’ issues with a Hollywood eye; transporting the issues usually associated with ‘high brow’ art cinema and pushing them into a more public domain. The issues of culture are dealt with at the beginning during the market scenes and while Richard is in the hotel. The notion of paradise at a cost is only shown after we have returned to the mainland on a rice run. If tourism finds it way to the island the culture of the inhabitants will be lost, much like in Thailand itself, because of the mass influx of tourism, the traditions and cultural aspects of Thailand have been pushed into the back allies, behind closed doors. The idea of paradise at a cost affects Richard the most, he must stay and guard the island from the surfers and in doing so distances himself from the inhabitants and Francoise; in keeping it a secret he misses out on paradise and loses Francoise. The notion of self is also explored, like in traditional art cinema the main character doesn’t have any goals or aims at the start of his ‘adventure’; just the desire to explore, Richard himself says: “I just feel like everyone tries to do something different, but you always wind up doing the same damn thing.” This leads him, Etienne and Francoise to the island in the first place. Richard also becomes more like Daffy in his segregation from the other inhabitants, having hallucinations and dreams involving shooting the islanders and surfers, and pretending to be a ‘Rambo-esque’ figure in the jungle, watching the farmers. The deterioration of Richard’s sense of self could also be considered part of the loss of paradise, after experiencing the beach, being away from it has driven Richard insane.

While Richard is away from the community we enter his ’jungle world’, a world without any of the responsibilities or problems he experienced in the community or back in the ‘real’ world. The jungle around his former home has become his playground. We see him pretend childishly that he has a gun – which is really a twig – and he is stalking the farmers, we also see him imagine that he is the main character of a computer game. These day dreams and games are all born from the idea of pleasure through screens; the references to Rambo (First Blood), (Kotcheff, 1982), Apocalypse Now (Coppola, 1972), The Deer Hunter (Cimino, 1978) and the motion with the pretend gun are all born out a technological culture. The references to Rambo, Apocalypse Now and The Deer Hunter are all easily recognisable Apocalypse Now being shown during the film, and several audio snippets being used near the climax of the film. The game day dream is also born out a screen obsessed culture; this is shown throughout the film. A lot of the island’s inhabitants are seen playing game boys and there is a mural on the screen of the world made up of a series of rectangles that could be screens. The idea of pleasure through screens in the film is used frequently, commenting on our place in the world; we no longer receive entertainment through nature or each other, and have to concentrate on a piece of plastic or glass for entertainment or information. The surfers on the opposite island are seen through binoculars, and the photo taken on the island is a screen of a happier time, it is then seen through another screen by Richard at the end of the film.
While in the jungle Richard becomes a microcosm of the beach, he becomes selfish, not helping the community and playing his own make believe games. He also believes he is superior to the rest of the island, much like the beach’s inhabitants suppose they are superior to the rest of the travelling community, although Richard’s self belief of superiority extends to the farmers who let the islanders live on the island. He watches the farmers and steals things from their hut while they are asleep. This idea of a game could be an issue of identity, without the other villages or rules Richard becomes selfish, the island community is cut off from the world, and Richard is cut of from the island community, meaning he has lost his place in the community, and therefore in the world, the ideas of being Rambo or an active participant in the Vietnam war could be from his previous culture’s obsession with screens. One could also say that Richard is becoming part of the island, protecting it from the American Surfers (he calls them the ‘invaders’), in one scene Richard appears to sprout from a large patch of leaves in the island, he also gains sustenance from the island in the scene, eating a caterpillar off one of the leaves.

The film uses montage sequences to convey information quickly like many Hollywood films. All of the travelling to the island is shown in a montage sequence with Richard narrating over the images we see on screen. When we arrive at the island we are shown a longer montage introducing us to the island and its inhabitants along with their likes and dislikes. The montage sequence is a common Hollywood element that allows us to experience meetings or travel great distances in a relatively short space of time, rather than taking a long time over travelling and arbitrary meetings that add nothing to the narrative and are of no consequence to the plot, which helps to avoid plot holes and ambiguous scenes that may only confuse an audience. The use of a montage also helps to speed up the action, where as in real life time passes second by second, hour by hour, by using a montage in The Beach we can be transported weeks after Richard, Francoise and Etienne have settled into life on the island.
Although this is a common trait among Hollywood narrative structure, it also highlights a key element in Art cinema, the lack of a time scale. Thompson notes that the protagonist in many art cinema films are under little obligation to achieve their goals in a set amount of time ((1999), p14), in The Beach, Richard is under no time-scale at all. The only thing he waits for in the entire film is for the surfers to cross the sea between the two islands, which he has no control over at all, as Thompson says “…characters often act because they are forced to, not because they want to”. ((1999) p16), throughout the film, Richard never acts without being forced to, the only thing that is totally his decision is to make a copy of the map, which results in death and the islanders having to leave their home.

The Beach uses many ‘Hollywood techniques’; montage sequences, star billing, steadi-cam and computer generated effects to name a few. It also employs some characteristics of ‘Art Cinema’; the voice over throughout the film highlights the characters similarities to art cinema’s characters, the vague ending, and the lack of a ‘cause and effect’ narrative structure.