Six Times St. Maarten / St. Martin Served as a Film Decor & Two Times It Could Have
You might have already found out St. Maarten / St. Martin and its beautiful beaches, hills and villages make for a great décor – so did the international movie industry. Join us for six samples of when St. Maarten / St. Martins beauty was exposed to world audiences – and two times it could have.
1. Speed 2: Cruise Control
Millions of people worldwide saw the successful “Speed” series in the 1990s featuring Keanu Reeves. In every Speed movie, Reeves fights pending disaster under pressure. In the second movie in the series “Speed 2: Cruise Control” (1996), an out-of-control cruise ship heads inadvertently for a Caribbean coast, and ultimately the hero of the saga prevents (most of the) disaster.
The village the ship runs into is a computer assisted version of Marigot, capital of St. Martin. Many citizens of both sides of the island vividly remember themselves volunteering during those days, running from a computer animated (hence invisible!) cruise ship about to hit the beautiful Marigot seaside.
2. Below Deck
Premiering on Bravo in 2013, mega yacht reality tv series “Below Deck” became an instant hit. Many seasons and spin-off series were to follow the original featuring captain Lee Rosbach and his crew. Where else would this first series be shot than on Caribbean yachting hub St. Maarten? Though Below Deck would visit more destinations in other episodes, it returned “home” to the island in 2017 for another series, and a new one was created on St. Maarten over 2023 / 2024.
3. Once Around
St. Maarten’s growth as a famous tourism destination was part of the décor of 1991 romance movie “Once Around”. The featured couple played by Richard Dreyfuss and Holly Hunter meet each other on St. Maarten / St. Martin. A famous sunset dance scene by the two actors on the roof of what was later to be Simpson Bay Resort & Marina became iconic for the movie.
4. Anthony Bourdains “A Cook’s Tour: Food Tastes Better With Sand Between Your Toes”
In the beginning of the millennium, famed culinary connoisseur the late Anthony Bourdain visited St. Maarten / St. Martin for the first episode of the second season of his acclaimed series “A Cook’s Tour”. Regardless of the many high end restaurants and foreign tastes available, in episode “Food Tastes Better With Sand Between Your Toes”, Bourdain went for the source of Caribbean culture. Amongst others, Bourdain visited renowned Rastafari restaurant Ital Shack, where he happily enjoyed ganja leaf tea and soybean fritters cooked in natural charcoal, cornmeal croquettes, greens and rice.
5 & 6 The Heineken Kidnap (Dutch & American version)
Not to be confused with a later Hollywood version of this story starring Anthony Hopkins under the title “Kidnapping Freddy Heineken”, Dutch language movie “The Heineken Kidnap” depicts the international crime drama unfolding in 1983 when owner / CEO Freddy Heineken of the namesake Dutch beer multinational was kidnapped by a group of gangsters in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. “Bladerunner” fame Dutch actor Rutger Hauer plays an excellent Freddy Heineken during his long abduction in Amsterdam and its aftermath.
As the kidnappers were discovered in Paris not long after the release of Heineken, but an extradition treaty with the Netherlands was not established at this point, the kidnappers were obliged to remain in France. A joint Dutch / French trap was set by making use of St. Martens’ / St. Martins’ binational character. By seducing the kidnappers, obliged to stay in France, to shortly travel over Dutch Kingdom soil via Princess Juliana International Airport to a promised French side St. Martin holiday location, this would provide the St. Maarten / Dutch police a short window of opportunity to arrest them. This failed as the kidnappers sensed the trap in advance and pressured their French supervisors to avoid the Dutch side.
Heineken however had made public that some of the world’s most sought after criminals were on the tourism depending island, in order to avoid them having an undisturbed free holiday in paradise after what they did to the CEO and his driver Ab Doderer only shortly before. As the population came to resist the presence of these two criminals vehemently, the two kidnappers were evacuated to uninhabited Tintamarre. Fatigued by the incessant pressure on their now intercontinental journey fleeing international press, they turned themselves in to Dutch police in Europe not long after.
Now the anti-climax of this acclaimed thriller for St. Maarten / St. Martin fans is that, regardless of all the attention paid to the island and following a mostly true story, none of the relevant scenes in this movie were shot on St. Maarten or St. Martin (neither were any in the version starring Anthony Hopkins). A waste of great and realistic décor, but an interesting episode of island history nonetheless!
6. Beauty and the Billionaire
2022 Romance movie “Beauty and the Billionaire” centers around demanding millionaire Justin Ross and his ad-hoc flown in assistant Addison, temporarily replacing her brother after an accident. What starts off as a clash of characters leads to let’s say, without spoiling clues of a romantic comedy, an improved relationship. Beautiful island shots of this movie contributed to the popularity of St. Maarten / St. Martin. Scenes with main actors Sashleigha Hightower and Chris Reid were recorded amongst others against scenic decors like Philipsburg’s Old Street, under planes landing over Maho Beach, a villa in the Lowlands and under water.
7. Holidays of Love (Vacations d’Amour)
From August 4th 1996 to March 23d 2007 (and during international reruns after), millions of French speaking television viewers followed “Vacances d’Amour”, a series centered around a group of friends and their adventures as well as challenges in romance. The 160 episode series is a successor to successful “Helene et Les Garcons” (Helene and the Boys) and Miracle d’Amour (Miracle of Love). Though the island the group of friends visits is called “Love Island”, many frequent visitors will recognize their favorite island of St. Martin as a decor.