THE PASSION OF GABRIELLE

Utterly different in flavor and tempo from Tin Sword -- and as unpredictable in its twists of fate, as the plot develops -- and in its original turns of phrase. This is a sultry tale of a Caribbean island, dominated by a voodoo priestess, whose main weapon is sex, and whose ambition is directed to winning sovereignty for her island- and power for herself. Blocked in this by a priest, native to the island, with whom she had grown up, and who alone knows her wholly for what she is- (while still fearing her power)- she sets out to wreck him. He has been returned to the island- a disciplinary measure from Rome- and she uses every means to crush his spiritual hold and his selfless aspirations for the people. This is a satire on burgeoning nationalism- and at the same time a colorful, rowdy, lively story of a political tempest in a very small teapot, which in the end is the toy of a malign freak of nature. Very special.