Searching for a film

There was this film,where in its begining a boy had gone swimming in the sea.He reached a buoy (and sat onto it or something),then a criminal appeared from the water and grabbed hold of the buoy.Afterwards the coast police came and started asking the boy questions.He manages to send away the cops and help the criminal reach shore.
Later in the movie,I think ,the boy grows to become an artist and secretly recieves support from the aforementioned criminal.
I do not remember the ending.The criminal had a beard.
Any ideas?

Great Expectations(1998)

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Yup,that's it ,thank you.