Based on a novel by Yukio Mishima albeit with the languid story transposed from Yokohama to a small English coastal town. The story sees widow Anne Osborne (Sarah Miles) living a lonely life in a the sullen backwater town and fantasising about her dead husband. When disaffected American sailor Jim Cameron (Kris Kristofferson) arrives in town Anne finds herself falling for his rugged charm and begins a torrid and romantic affair with him. Unfortunately for the pair, Anne’s teenage son Jonathan (Jonathan Kahn) doesn’t agree with the match and begins to conspire against Jim with his circle of five friends. The precocious group are led by The Chief (Earl Rhodes), a young man with a superiority complex and a grim line in fascistic rhetoric. The screenplay of the film by director Lewis John Carlino is thoughtful and philosophical and touches on loneliness and alienation, while drawing a chilling portrait of teenagers and their strange attitudes. The characters are simply sketched with their dialogue and Carlino’s slow, deliberate unspooling of the plot helping to put life into the characterisations. There are surreal touches, dream sequences and some cleverly shot sex and masturbation scenes. The sea, at all times, undulates in the background like a quasi-spiritual entity, acting as a clever counterpoint to The Chief’s dark Nietzschean philosophies. Douglas Slocombe provides some great cinematography with some superb shots of the coast and the landscapes around the small town. “The Sailor Who Fell from Grace with the Sea” is slowly paced, languid in form and is full of strange darknesses that lead to a chilling and disturbing climax. The pacing won’t be for everyone but overall film offers a strange downbeat meditation on loneliness and fascistic youth. ( )