Julien Neaves, Caribbean Head Writer
Growing up in Trinidad in the 1980s I remember watching the local soap opera No Boundaries and had vague memories of Sugar Cane Arrows. But for some reason I have no memory of soap opera Turn of the Tide, despite it running from 1984 to 1990. I therefore had no point of reference when I watched the 1986 spin-off movie Turn of the Tide: The Movie on YouTube. And it was definitely not what I was expecting.
The film, like the soap opera, focuses on the Walkers, a low-income family living in a sleepy coastal village in Tobago (the country of Trinidad and Tobago is comprised of the two islands). In the opening, responsible and forthright Tiny Walker (Eastlyn Bacchus) leaves for a trip to the United States and only returns in the final act. She leaves behind her older relative Joshua Walker (Rodill Clarke) and son Rawle Walker (Michael Duncan). In Trini parlance Joshua is "wotless" (worthless) — he doesn't work, is a petty thief, firmly believes in beating women to keep them in line and spends most of his time trying to woo, drunken and bed every woman in the village, especially those of the plus-size variety. He is a lothario and a scamp through and through, but Clarke plays him with some charm and vigour that it is difficult not to be entertained by his antics.
Hey baby. Can I buy you a fish sandwich?
Before I discuss the other storylines, I must note my surprise at how raunchy this film was. There is no nudity or graphic language, but there is adult language and simulated sex, especially with Joshua's storyline. There are even two scenes of characters watching a porn film (a "Blues" or "Blue Movie" as it was called back then) with an accompanying sound effect. Eyebrows were definitely raised there. The other storylines are more sedate. You have the side stories of Charlie (Cecil Adams) who cheats on his wife with a gold digger and Chico (Eric Powder) dealing with the return of his estranged wife from abroad. But the main plot deals with Rawle who travels to Trinidad to perform at a nightclub and attempts to woo the manager, the beautiful Yolanda Bolden (Monica Nichols). But Yolanda is married to a soldier named Roger (Errol Roberts) and her affair with Rawle leads to some deadly consequences.
In the Rawle storyline, I believe the writers want the audience to root for the character and his new relationship. But this is not easy as their romance is an adulterous one and the chemistry between the lovers is barely developed. The film also makes a sharp tonal shift in the final act and all the frivolity of the previous two acts completely disappear. It is somewhat jarring. And Turn of the Tide does feel like an extended soap opera episode, which I presume was the intention, but a more cinematic quality would have been appreciated. I also would have liked some type of unifying theme tying in the disparate storylines which would have made it feel like a connected experience rather than a bunch of random stories set in one village. That said, the film is quite funny, has some solid acting and interesting drama, and the superb soundtrack by the late great Andre Tanker definitely makes it worth watching.
Editor Jules' Score: 6.5 out of 10
You can watch Turn of the Tide: The Movie on YouTube by clicking here and do share your thoughts in the comments. And you can check out more classic T&T content below:
TT SUPERNATURAL THRILLER 'MEENA' RETRO REVIEW
TOP 6 CLASSIC TRINIDAD AND TOBAGO TV SHOWS
CLASSIC TRINI COMEDY 'BACCHANAL TIME' IS PLENTY BACCHANAL
Julien "Editor Jules" Neaves is a TARDIS-flying, Force-using Trekkie whose bedroom stories were by Freddy Krueger, learned to be a superhero from Marvel, but dreams of being Batman. I love promoting Caribbean film (Cariwood), creating board games and I am an award-winning author. I say things like "13 flavours of awesome sauce". Read more.
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