Browse Movies : Focus Features : 2006 : PG-13

A student journalist, for a college paper, visiting friends in contemporary London happens upon the scoop of a lifetime. Along the investigative trail, she finds magic, murder, mystery - and perhaps love, with a British aristocrat.

Frank is a 55-year-old hard-working man, established and respected in his community, who suddenly finds himself without a job. Several other colleagues suffer the same fate and, whilst a shock to everyone, it is above all a crushing blow to Frank's pride. For the first time in his life, Frank is without direction. Agonised by the memory of his young son's drowning, Frank's dreams are haunted with images of water, yet it is only when he swims that he feels truly in control of his destiny. When his friend Danny jokes that on a clear day he could swim to France, a seed of hope is planted in his mind. Frank determines to salvage his self-esteem and to tackle his demons by attempting the ultimate test of endurance--to swim the English Channel--the 22-mile stretch of water dividing England and France. Initially concealing his master plan from his loving wife Joan and estranged son Rob, Frank and his friends unite to support his audacious plan. In the process this motley band of brothers restore their lost hope and confidence in the future.

In South Africa, Patrick Chamusso is a charming and loving husband to his wife Precious, and a caring father to his two young daughters. He works as a foreman at the centrally located Secunda oil refinery, which is a symbol of South Africa's self-sufficiency at a time when the world was protesting the country's oppressive apartheid system. In his spare time, Patrick coaches a local boys' soccer team. Carefully toeing the hard line imposed on blacks by apartheid, Patrick is completely apolitical. Nic Vos is a Colonel in the country's Police Security Branch. The shrewd and charismatic Vos strives to maintain order in volatile situations, which have become more and more frequent as the outlawed activist organization African National Congress (ANC) rallies blacks against apartheid. Vos is also concerned for the safety of his wife and two daughters. He and his family live a world away from the Chamusso family--until the innocent Patrick comes under suspicion and is arrested (in June 1980) for sabotage of the Secunda oil refinery. His alibi is compromised, and Patrick is desperate to shield Precious from a past indiscretion and keep his job. But he is ill-prepared to withstand brutal interrogations by Vos' men. As Vos further insinuates himself into the lives of the Chamussos, to Patrick's shock and shame, Precious herself is jailed and tortured. Although he and Precious are soon released from custody, Patrick is stunned into action and completely reorients his sense of self and purpose. He leaves his family to join up with the ANC. Becoming a rebel fighter and political operative, Patrick is radicalized on behalf of his people and his country. He ultimately envisions a formidable and dangerous follow-up strike against the Secunda refinery, risking his own life and future. Change must and will come, for Patrick and his family, and for South Africa itself.