Foxtrot (1976 film)


Foxtrot is a 1976 British-Mexican drama film directed by Arturo Ripstein and starring Peter O'Toole, Charlotte Rampling and Max von Sydow. It was re-released in 1977 as The Far Side of Paradise.
Somewhat in the style of Swept Away, it's the story of a very chic, Romanian count and countess that escape Europe by yacht in 1939 during World War II for a private island paradise somewhere in the Pacific.
It's rather unsettling and a bit surreal, portraying a couple reminiscent of the duke and duchess of Windsor as they undergo a languid descent from elegance to decadence to butchery.
Most striking is the set and wardrobe. The set is a full Art Deco interior under a tent on a deserted island, and the clothes feature a seemingly endless supply of pristine white couture and custom tailoring.
The timing was such that Rampling was making this just as Luchino Visconti needed to begin shooting "The Innocent" written with Rampling in mind, and so she couldn't appear in what was Visconti's last film.