Claim, The

Aroview: On the mountainous frontier of the 1860s California goldrush, dir. Winterbottom (JUDE, WONDERLAND) reimagines Thomas Hardy’s ‘The Mayor of Casterbridge’ with a dense period detail and raucous amorality. Peter Mullan plays a monarchical mayor, who years before had ‘sold’ his wife and daughter (Nastassja Kinski and Sarah Polley) for the gold-claim on which his remote town is based. In the ensuing tragedy, the characters’ heart-breaking dilemmas find an effective contrast in the heartless beauty of the natural setting.

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