Kill Cruise
Encyclopedia
Kill Cruise is a 1990 film
directed by Peter Keglevic
and starring Jürgen Prochnow
, Patsy Kensit
and Elizabeth Hurley
.
Bella Donna reports a man overboard
. The victim, Paul Pelikan, drowns before he can be rescued. People in the Bella Donna's home port of Gibraltar
suspect that the Skipper deliberately pushed Paul overboard because he'd had an affair with the Skipper's wife Mona (Grażyna Szapołowska). Though nothing is proven, Mona believes the Skipper did in fact throw Paul overboard and leaves him. Heartbroken, the Skipper spends most of his time at the local bars getting drunk and swearing he will sail again, though the townspeople don't take his claim seriously.
Meanwhile, two English girls Su (Kensit) and Lou (Hurley) are barely making a living singing at local clubs. Though fast friends, there seems to be tension between the two. They put on a show at the California Bar that night, singing an English language
version of Porque te vas
(translated as You're Leaving Me). The Skipper is present for the performance and falls hard for the two, especially after Lou performs an impromptu striptease
at the end. After spending the night with the two girls, the Skipper agrees to their request to sail them to Barbados
.
Though the voyage will take four weeks, all seems to be well at the start. The Skipper does express some concern in his ship's log about how close the two girls are, then injects himself with a syringe
. As time passes, Su flirts with the Skipper, but becomes upset when her advances are ignored. As tensions further mount, Su snoops through the Skipper's quarters and finds the syringe and his log book. She tells Lou that she thinks the Skipper is a drug addict and a murderer, then confronts the Skipper at dinner later. He responds by throwing Su overboard. Angry, Su hides what she thinks are the Skipper's narcotics but is in fact insulin
. Soon, the Skipper falls into a diabetic coma
. A desperate Lou eventually finds the inuslin and injects the Skipper, saving his life. A grateful Skipper later confesses his love for Lou. Lou responds "What about Su?" The Skipper replies "What about Su?" Su then walks in on them having sex. Su is heartbroken and starts crying. Lou, feeling guilty, tries to comfort Su.
Things seem to have smoothed over at the end, when the girls reprise their act, singing "You're Leaving Me" again. Without warning, Lou shoots the Skipper with a spear gun, killing him almost instantly. In terror, Su flees below deck. Lou takes a moment to draw a heart and arrow in the Skipper's pooling blood before going to the galley to make a cup of tea. She seems oddly calm while Su is quaking in terror over what's happened. Lou tries to calm Su down but ends up smothering her with a pillow.
An end title states that the Bella Donna was later found adrift, with no one aboard.
Film
A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...
directed by Peter Keglevic
Peter Keglevic
Peter Keglevic is an Austrian film director and screenwriter. He has directed 30 films since 1976. His film Bella Donna was screened at the 1983 Cannes Film Festival.-Selected filmography:* Bella Donna * Kill Cruise...
and starring Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow
Jürgen Prochnow is a German actor. His most well-known roles internationally have been as the sympathetic submarine captain in Das Boot , Duke Leto Atreides I in Dune , the minor, but important role of Neo-Stalinist dictator General Ivan Radek in Air Force One and the villain Maxwell Dent in...
, Patsy Kensit
Patsy Kensit
Patricia Jude Francis "Patsy" Kensit is an English actress, singer, model and former child star, known for her television and film appearances. Her films include Lethal Weapon 2 and she has been married to rock stars Jim Kerr and Liam Gallagher, as well as herself fronting the band Eighth Wonder...
and Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Hurley
Elizabeth Jane Hurley is an English model and actress who became known as a girlfriend of Hugh Grant in the 1990s. In 1994, as Grant became the focus of worldwide media attention due to the global box office success of his film Four Weddings and a Funeral, Hurley accompanied him to the film's Los...
.
Plot summary
The story begins at sea when the unnamed Skipper (Prochnow) of the sailboatSailboat
A sailboat or sailing boat is a boat propelled partly or entirely by sails. The term covers a variety of boats, larger than small vessels such as sailboards and smaller than sailing ships, but distinctions in the size are not strictly defined and what constitutes a sailing ship, sailboat, or a...
Bella Donna reports a man overboard
Man overboard
Man overboard is a situation in which a person has fallen from a boat or ship into the water and is in need of rescue. Whoever sees the person's fall should shout "man overboard" to alert other crew members and attempt to maintain visual contact with the person in the water...
. The victim, Paul Pelikan, drowns before he can be rescued. People in the Bella Donna's home port of Gibraltar
Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula at the entrance of the Mediterranean. A peninsula with an area of , it has a northern border with Andalusia, Spain. The Rock of Gibraltar is the major landmark of the region...
suspect that the Skipper deliberately pushed Paul overboard because he'd had an affair with the Skipper's wife Mona (Grażyna Szapołowska). Though nothing is proven, Mona believes the Skipper did in fact throw Paul overboard and leaves him. Heartbroken, the Skipper spends most of his time at the local bars getting drunk and swearing he will sail again, though the townspeople don't take his claim seriously.
Meanwhile, two English girls Su (Kensit) and Lou (Hurley) are barely making a living singing at local clubs. Though fast friends, there seems to be tension between the two. They put on a show at the California Bar that night, singing an English language
English language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
version of Porque te vas
Porque te vas
"Porque te vas" is a song performed by the singer Jeanette written by José Luis Perales and remained relatively unknown at the start of 1974...
(translated as You're Leaving Me). The Skipper is present for the performance and falls hard for the two, especially after Lou performs an impromptu striptease
Striptease
A striptease is an erotic or exotic dance in which the performer gradually undresses, either partly or completely, in a seductive and sexually suggestive manner...
at the end. After spending the night with the two girls, the Skipper agrees to their request to sail them to Barbados
Barbados
Barbados is an island country in the Lesser Antilles. It is in length and as much as in width, amounting to . It is situated in the western area of the North Atlantic and 100 kilometres east of the Windward Islands and the Caribbean Sea; therein, it is about east of the islands of Saint...
.
Though the voyage will take four weeks, all seems to be well at the start. The Skipper does express some concern in his ship's log about how close the two girls are, then injects himself with a syringe
Syringe
A syringe is a simple pump consisting of a plunger that fits tightly in a tube. The plunger can be pulled and pushed along inside a cylindrical tube , allowing the syringe to take in and expel a liquid or gas through an orifice at the open end of the tube...
. As time passes, Su flirts with the Skipper, but becomes upset when her advances are ignored. As tensions further mount, Su snoops through the Skipper's quarters and finds the syringe and his log book. She tells Lou that she thinks the Skipper is a drug addict and a murderer, then confronts the Skipper at dinner later. He responds by throwing Su overboard. Angry, Su hides what she thinks are the Skipper's narcotics but is in fact insulin
Insulin
Insulin is a hormone central to regulating carbohydrate and fat metabolism in the body. Insulin causes cells in the liver, muscle, and fat tissue to take up glucose from the blood, storing it as glycogen in the liver and muscle....
. Soon, the Skipper falls into a diabetic coma
Diabetic coma
Diabetic coma is a reversible form of coma found in people with diabetes mellitus. It is a medical emergency.Three different types of diabetic coma are identified:#Severe diabetic hypoglycemia...
. A desperate Lou eventually finds the inuslin and injects the Skipper, saving his life. A grateful Skipper later confesses his love for Lou. Lou responds "What about Su?" The Skipper replies "What about Su?" Su then walks in on them having sex. Su is heartbroken and starts crying. Lou, feeling guilty, tries to comfort Su.
Things seem to have smoothed over at the end, when the girls reprise their act, singing "You're Leaving Me" again. Without warning, Lou shoots the Skipper with a spear gun, killing him almost instantly. In terror, Su flees below deck. Lou takes a moment to draw a heart and arrow in the Skipper's pooling blood before going to the galley to make a cup of tea. She seems oddly calm while Su is quaking in terror over what's happened. Lou tries to calm Su down but ends up smothering her with a pillow.
An end title states that the Bella Donna was later found adrift, with no one aboard.
Critical reception
- "Trivial thriller, psychologically implausible, with a weak acting performance." ("Trivialer Thriller, psychologisch unglaubwürdig und mit schwachen schauspielerischen Leistungen."), Lexikon des internationalen Films
- "Logic goes overboard pretty early..." ("Die Logik geht ziemlich früh über Bord..."), Cinema