Benjamin Bratt stars as Arno, a lazy dude who lives in the Bahamas and has his own boat. He scavenges the beaches and makes a few bucks off salvage from sunken ships he finds. He has the hots for a girl called Coquina, (played by Mila Avital) who wants to see the wide world. Arno contents himself in the arms of Janine (played by Simone-Elise Gerard)., until such a time as he can complete the conquest of the younger woman. The problem is, Janine is the wife of Jean Pierre. Jean Pierre is Arno's competitor in the salvage business. Jean Pierre is played by one of my favorite actors, Armand Assante. Nobody plays a scoundrel on the make like Armand.
A gangster tries to get Arno involved in a corrupt deal. When Arno refuses, the crook frames the youngster for possession of drugs, among other things. The local Gendarmes play along with the crooks and are supposed to release Arno, on the proviso that the kid will help the crook with an operation.
It seems that there is a boat that has gone down in deep water. The yacht has about a million in gold, along with a bunch of jewelry on the corpses of the occupants. After escaping from the local constables, Arno tries to salvage the wreck on his own. He is, at this point, the only one aware of the location of the boat. Arno has no equipment for deep diving. This is in the 1930's, before scuba gear. He is forced to align himself with the rascally Jean Pierre and his wife.
Wouldn't you love to dive on a wreck, depending on a guy to keep the air flowing to your suit? Especially if you had been in the sack with his wife and he knew about it? There are plots galore between the two couples on the salvage boat. Marriage may not be enough reason to give up even one share of the treasure. Maybe each of the four wants it all.
Perhaps the resident shark that lives in the wrecked craft can whittle down the number of survivors somewhat. Watch this good movie and find out. Will Jean Pierre be avenged on his wife's lover? Will he want the younger woman instead of his wife? Will the gangsters show up after the gold is salvaged? Will Coquina kill the older woman when she finds out that Arno and Janine have had a fling? This is a good movie and is probably closer to 5 stars than to 4.
I love the beach and movies that flaunt island scenery like this. This was filmed in Belize and I love the background. I wish I could go treasure hunting like this. My problem is, sharks scare the crap out of me and I would hate to pollute the water in such a pristine paradise. Ha, ha.
Let me say that this show is poorly reviewed by some. It is called a 'B' movie but I liked it a lot.
From the author's green retreat, I'm CE Wills.
P.S. This is based on a story by Ernest Hemingway.
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