Plot Details: This opinion reveals major details about the movie's plot.

The Tamarind Seed is an espionage thriller starring Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif. Andrews plays Judith Farrow, an attractive widow who happens to work for an important Minister in the British Home Office. On holiday in the Caribbean she meets and befriends a charming Russian named Feodor Sverdlow (Omar Sharif), and their friendship seems destined to blossom into something more. However she gets much more than she bargained for – when she gets home, British Intelligence have some questions about Mr Sverdlow, who they say was more than just another tourist in Barbados…

In England there is some intrigue going on with a couple of high-up ministers, and a no-nonsense northerner detective assigned to make everyone’s life hell. There is also the legend of the Tamarind Seed, from which the film derives its title. Basically, this legend says that there was a slave accused of a crime and sentenced to death; a tamarind tree was said to have revealed his innocence after his death by producing seeds in the shape of the man’s face. Quite how this fits in with the story of the film you’ll have to see for yourself…


So begins a cat & mouse tale of espionage, counter-espionage, and Cold War political wrangling. The plot is quite involved but seemed a bit too full of contrivances to really be taken as seriously as it wanted to be. The pacing was a bit problematic too – it just dragged on too slowly in parts. The final plot twist was utterly predictable, though kind of in a good way (you’ll see what I mean). The music was rather repetitive and thus mildly annoying rather than atmospheric.

However, there were good aspects to the movie, and overall I did enjoy it. It focused more on the human element than many espionage movies do, which is good. Andrews and Sharif played their parts well, and there was a good supporting cast including Anthony Quayle (head of MI6) and Sylivia Sims. The main characters were quite interesting, though I never felt that the film really delved beneath the surfaces of their characters. It might have worked better if it had taken itself a little less seriously – Director Blake Edwards (The Pink Panther films – and Julie Andrews’ second husband) seems less at ease with this serious style of film, though it is still a creditable attempt (perhaps he is a victim of his own success in this regard). There were some decent action scenes and some intriguing moments, just too much not-very-much-going-on situations in between. Overall it did help the film that both Julie Andrews and Omar Sharif have such a screen presence, though their characters did seem to lack a certain chemistry together.

The film is rated 15 (UK) – though having watched it I really can’t understand why. The USA rating of PG does in this instance seem to be much more reasonably. There is very occasional use of bad language and a couple of violent images, but really nothing that terrible. The espionage thriller genre, when handled sensibly, is hardly likely to be enjoyable for younger viewers anyway though. The plot was relatively feasible, with Sharif’s character and his colleagues – sorry,comrades - without fail producing the least believable moments.

Overall The Tamarind Seed is a film worth watching, but is a bit too slow-going to be truly great. 3 stars and a recommended, fans of Sharif / Andrews or thoughtful espionage thrillers will probably enjoy it most.

Other Information

Year of release: 1974
Runtime: 119 minutes


Links

A somewhat similarly themed film is The Russia House starring Sean Connery and Michelle Pfeiffer.


Recommended: Yes