Harlequin
Harlequin
PG | 27 April 1984 (USA)
Harlequin Trailers

In this modern-day version of the Rasputin story, David Hemmings plays an up-and-coming senator, Nick Rast, whose young son is terminally ill with leukaemia. A mysterious faith healer, Gregory Wolfe, appears and seems to cure the boy. Rast's wife Sandy falls in love with Wolfe, but the powerful interests behind Rast's career, represented by geriatric monster Doc Wheelan are less happy with events.

Reviews
Huievest Instead, you get a movie that's enjoyable enough, but leaves you feeling like it could have been much, much more.
KnotStronger This is a must-see and one of the best documentaries - and films - of this year.
ChampDavSlim The acting is good, and the firecracker script has some excellent ideas.
Janae Milner Easily the biggest piece of Right wing non sense propaganda I ever saw.
gridoon2018 Robert Powell, fresh from what is arguably his most famous role (Jesus Christ), plays here another character who can perform miracles, although this time he is more ambiguous and enigmatic. Is he an angel or a demon? What does he want? Just how powerful are his powers, and how did he get them? Can he die? Some of these questions are answered, some are not, but the film certainly keeps you guessing, and Powell's performance is mesmerizing: you never know what he is going to do next. As films about telekinetic and/or magic powers go, "Harlequin" is not quite in the same league as "The Medusa Touch" or "The Fury", but it's not bad at all. **1/2 out of 4.
Theo Robertson I saw this in 1983 and remembered it as a very haunting supernatural drama so I made a point in staying up late tonight to watch it on TV . Unfortunately it's one of these movies that disappoints after seeing it again after a very lengthy period . When it's good it's very good but there's not enough good moments . Thankfully the ending still compels when Wolfe returns to tell Rast what's going on plot wise but much of the movie revolves around long talkative scenes The major problem with HARLEQUIN is that it's an Australian movie . There's nothing wrong with that in itself but as well as being a supernatural drama it's also a political thriller but does the machinations of Australian state politics interest a potential audience compared to global American politics ? In other words just think of how more thought provoking the story could have been if Wolfe had befriended the family of a man who's running for party nomination for presidential candidate . Wouldn't that have made for a better , more thought provoking film ? We can all understand how powerful a potential candidate for US President is but for much of the movie I was scratching my chin as to what's the big deal about deputy governor of an unnamed Australian state Despite my disappointment HARLEQUIN is if not a great movie it's far from being a bad one . Robert Powell doesn't go over the top in a role that demands much subtlety while David Hemmings likewise plays Senator Rast in a cleverly understated manner . Despite the obvious parallels to the legend of Rasputin , directing that seems better suited to a TVM and some underwhelming special effects the last twenty minutes are nothing less than nail biting and I still recommend this movie as long as you've got the patience to stay with it
dbdumonteil Intriguing supernatural thriller which keeps -at least till its last sequences -special effects to the minimum and mainly relies on Robert Powell's fascinating presence -whatever you think of Zephirelli's work,you cannot deny he was perhaps the best Jesus on the screen- and the rest of the cast follows suit.Actually the little boy's and Powell's relationship reminds me more of that of Damien and his sinister nanny in "the omen" (see their power on animals) than Rasputin and the czar's son.But Sandra 's behavior is Alexandra's under Grigori the monk's spell.And their surname,"Rast" is "tsar" backwards!Rasputin's motives were mysterious ,and he moved in a political world where his influence was huge when it came to ruling the country .Wolf's reasons why constantly elude the viewer's perception,and it justifies the hints at comedia della arte and Harlequin :like Rasputin ,he tried to open his master's eyes.Rasputin's death has remained even today wrapped in mystery :poison (but documents were found which would tend to prove poison was not efficient and that the killers -Iusupov and Dimitri- were amateurs.) then the gun (four shots in the back),but when they found the dead body in the frozen river,they had to admit he did not die of his wounds.Hence the conclusion of the movie which would pass for another "Friday the 13th" rip-off ,if history were not here.But connections with "the omen" remain:Powell trying to enlighten the senator is not unlike the priest trying to persuade Peck his son was evil;both movies take place in the political world.And the last pictures of the two movies are very similar.Watch it:although by no means a masterpiece,it's above average and would deserve a better rating.
DeeDee-10 As a long-time fan of Robert Powell, I have to say he was fantastic in this little known film, which I saw under the title "Dark Forces." The actor's ability is far under rated -why, I'll never know. This tale of a mysterious being entering the lives of a family was curiously spiritual as well as supernatural. I even found Powell quoting a line from his masterpiece "Jesus of Nazareth." There were some unanswered questions in the film, but I wasn't bothered by this. After all, the supernatural leaves a lot of gaps for us to dwell on and come up with our own conclusions.