Countryman

I saw Countryman for the first time back on USA's marvelous Night Flight show. Later when I heard it was out on DVD, I bought a copy and found that it was even better than I remembered it.

Last night I watched Countryman again and, you know what? I like it even MORE this time.

Countryman is a reggae-drenched story of a plane crash in Jamaica. A white man and woman are rescued by a native fisherman. They are given shelter and hospitality by the friendly fisherman, Countryman, who is billed as "Himself" in the credits. I don't know how true that is, but there's no doubt that this guy is the real thing. He's too intimate with his boat and the jungle surroundings for it to be otherwise.

The local military police are looking for the missing two people. The official story is that an American CIA operative has infiltrated their area and must be detained. The two are really marijuana smugglers.

Much of the Rasta culture is depicted in Countryman. It is shown as a peaceful, spiritual religion. And they smoke a whooooole lot of ganja.

Countryman is part jungle adventure, part mystical fable, and it has a lot of action. It's also very funny at times.

Forget The Harder They Fall. Countryman is the Reggae movie. If you're looking for something different, I highly recommend it.