This splendid TV version of
The Swiss Family Robinson embraces the classic novel's darker aspects, which are often ignored in blandly child-friendly adaptations. Persecuted for his religious beliefs, David Robinson (Liam Cunningham) denies that he's a pro-French sympathizer, but the English government still sentences him to a nine-year stretch at a New South Wales penal colony. With his family in tow, the self-righteous David begins his sea voyage to Port Jackson; en route, a storm wrecks the ship and drowns most of the passengers. David, his wife, Lara (Brana Bajic), and their children Sarah, Fritz and Ernst, survive the calamity and float to shore. Though s...
Released:
2001
Rated:
NR
Length:
175 mins