Interconnected stories unfold to reveal episodes in the life of a documentary filmmaker--all interwoven, they are paralleled with a contemporary allegory of the classic story of Adam and Eve's 'fall from grace' in the Garden of Eden. Told in a non-linear structure, the stories follow Nic from his youth in Africa, as the son of British colonists, to post war England, his first love, his marriage, his infidelity, and his return to Africa to make a film. Nic's tale is cross-cut with the classical parable of Adam and Eve which serves as an allegory to the unraveling of events in his own life. The two tales intertwined, ultimately serve as a powerful summation of the loss of innocence--not just of Nic but of humanity and our species.

release year: 1999

star(s): Bernard Hill    Jonathan Rhys Meyers    Kelly Macdonald    Saffron Burrows