***SPOILERS*** ***SPOILERS*** Run the Wild Fields: an evocative drama
Tagline: War, patriotism, commitment, childhood, missing, nostalgia, fatherhood, love, belongingness, friendship, individualism vs democracy vs fascism, jealousy, family, drama
'Run the Wild Fields' is not a deeply moving movie, but it creates a subtle ripple in you that can have a long life. Though the film has war and violence in the background, the action is not blatantly shown; it is rather subtly invoked. The physical and mental tensions that lurk underneath are quite palpable. I think the movie evokes the mood and background of war more subtly than action thrillers such as 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'The Thin Red Line'.
While growing up like a 'wild flower' in North Carolina, Pug (her father has been missing for three years in the Pacifics in the second world war) finds a wounded man in her backyard. She informs her mother Ruby, who attends to the stranger. The young man turns out to be a mysterious drifter Tom, who is later revealed to be a war veteran. Ruby gives him shelter for the night in her house.
Later, under a different circumstance Tom and Ruby meets; she again gives him shelter. This time, he is to stay in their outhouse, cannot take wine or women and is to accompany the mother and daughter to church on Sunday. Time passes by, a natural relationship blooms between Tom and Ruby and Pug. Tom moves almost naturally into the roles of Ruby's husband and Pug's father (to which Ruby passively consents).
Pug's relationship with Tom starts with a mere curiosity that later develops into companionship. Finally she is ready to fix him into the role of her father which had been lying vacant for so long. He teaches her nursery rhymes and dancing, takes her to fishing and even mends her relationship with Sammie, her archrival in school, by asking him to dance with her in the Independence day party.
Jealous neighbours scoop out Tom's past and history. Still, the relationship of Tom with Ruby and Pug continues. (Tom still stays in the outhouse and presumably they do not have physical relations, barring a deep kissing scene.) By the time war ends, Tom had become an inextricable part of mother's and daughter's life. Then comes the conflict: Ruby's missing husband, Frank Miller is coming back.
The climax of the story is shown through Pug's view. She hides her father's letter which informs that he is coming back. Pug, who had sorely missed her father, now wants Tom to be her father. But dramatic turn of events take the letter into Tom's hands.
There are many encaging sequences which absorb you into the film. While Ruby sews up her torn dress, Pug expresses her wish to learn dancing. (She now wants to dance with boys.) She asks Tom whether he could teach her to dance, which he agrees to with a winking of his eye. The scene when Tom teaches Pug dancing in the outhouse is sweet and natural. She giggles when he offers her his hand. Then they go swirling by the way tossing something off from the shelf. Still, teaching and learning continues.
Especially touching is the last scene, when Pug comes searching for Tom to introduce him to her father. Her sense of loss when she finds Tom gone somehow reminded me of my own childhood (though for no obvious reason). I think most of us, during childhood develop a fetish attachment to some people other than your parents or close relatives (a relationship that simply blooms out of proximity) and may want them near, though that might be impossible. And the nostalgia and sense of loss that reality brings is overpowering.
The cinematography that captures the poetic North Carolina landscape makes the movie all the more watchable. The woods where Silas goes hunting, the fishing scenes featuring Tom and Pug, the rugged farm where Tom works are all simply evocative. The empty swing hanging from a tree-top goes well with the mood of the characters and the film. The most enduring one comes when Tom, Ruby and Pug looks onto the field after a full day's work.
The emotional conflicts and dilemmas the characters undergo are beautifully reflected by the actors. The controlled, but to-the-brim acting of Joannah Whalley and Sean Patrick Flanery is remarkable. The chemistry between the two is quiet, but forcefully evocative. Whalley has very expressive (She is such a classic beauty, no wonder the People magazine chose her one among the fifty most beautiful people in the world!!) eyes that reflect the underlying fears and tensions her character undergoes. Very controlled acting indeed. It feels the only part of her body that we see are her eyes. (Flanery's are also deep, soulful eyes that reflect his cynicism and desolation). The chirpy Alexa Vega lends a crispy tone to the film. One gets the feeling, had these three not been there, the film would have been different, not to mention, not so encaging.
Good editing work too. The film is crisp and taut. No shot is misplaced or juts out. Finally, a superb piece of direction. The director understands the meaning of economy and has made a prim movie. The way the film invokes the second world war in the background is superb. President Roosevelt's death, how the whole country is affected by it, (Tom's talk on "radiowaves" is a bit confusing, though.), families glued to the radio to hear the latest news about the President's death, the genuine sorrow which sunk America etc dovetails trim editing with supreme direction.
The secondary characters - the jealous, but concerned Silas, Miss Matty, the police inspector who arrests Tom, the elderly couple who loses their son George in the war - all are life-like and drawn in grey shades. They lend originality to the film.
A sober getaway from the usual Hollywood stuff. Something that touches your heart gently; but the pain lasts longer.
Tagline: War, patriotism, commitment, childhood, missing, nostalgia, fatherhood, love, belongingness, friendship, individualism vs democracy vs fascism, jealousy, family, drama
'Run the Wild Fields' is not a deeply moving movie, but it creates a subtle ripple in you that can have a long life. Though the film has war and violence in the background, the action is not blatantly shown; it is rather subtly invoked. The physical and mental tensions that lurk underneath are quite palpable. I think the movie evokes the mood and background of war more subtly than action thrillers such as 'Saving Private Ryan' or 'The Thin Red Line'.
While growing up like a 'wild flower' in North Carolina, Pug (her father has been missing for three years in the Pacifics in the second world war) finds a wounded man in her backyard. She informs her mother Ruby, who attends to the stranger. The young man turns out to be a mysterious drifter Tom, who is later revealed to be a war veteran. Ruby gives him shelter for the night in her house.
Later, under a different circumstance Tom and Ruby meets; she again gives him shelter. This time, he is to stay in their outhouse, cannot take wine or women and is to accompany the mother and daughter to church on Sunday. Time passes by, a natural relationship blooms between Tom and Ruby and Pug. Tom moves almost naturally into the roles of Ruby's husband and Pug's father (to which Ruby passively consents).
Pug's relationship with Tom starts with a mere curiosity that later develops into companionship. Finally she is ready to fix him into the role of her father which had been lying vacant for so long. He teaches her nursery rhymes and dancing, takes her to fishing and even mends her relationship with Sammie, her archrival in school, by asking him to dance with her in the Independence day party.
Jealous neighbours scoop out Tom's past and history. Still, the relationship of Tom with Ruby and Pug continues. (Tom still stays in the outhouse and presumably they do not have physical relations, barring a deep kissing scene.) By the time war ends, Tom had become an inextricable part of mother's and daughter's life. Then comes the conflict: Ruby's missing husband, Frank Miller is coming back.
The climax of the story is shown through Pug's view. She hides her father's letter which informs that he is coming back. Pug, who had sorely missed her father, now wants Tom to be her father. But dramatic turn of events take the letter into Tom's hands.
There are many encaging sequences which absorb you into the film. While Ruby sews up her torn dress, Pug expresses her wish to learn dancing. (She now wants to dance with boys.) She asks Tom whether he could teach her to dance, which he agrees to with a winking of his eye. The scene when Tom teaches Pug dancing in the outhouse is sweet and natural. She giggles when he offers her his hand. Then they go swirling by the way tossing something off from the shelf. Still, teaching and learning continues.
Especially touching is the last scene, when Pug comes searching for Tom to introduce him to her father. Her sense of loss when she finds Tom gone somehow reminded me of my own childhood (though for no obvious reason). I think most of us, during childhood develop a fetish attachment to some people other than your parents or close relatives (a relationship that simply blooms out of proximity) and may want them near, though that might be impossible. And the nostalgia and sense of loss that reality brings is overpowering.
The cinematography that captures the poetic North Carolina landscape makes the movie all the more watchable. The woods where Silas goes hunting, the fishing scenes featuring Tom and Pug, the rugged farm where Tom works are all simply evocative. The empty swing hanging from a tree-top goes well with the mood of the characters and the film. The most enduring one comes when Tom, Ruby and Pug looks onto the field after a full day's work.
The emotional conflicts and dilemmas the characters undergo are beautifully reflected by the actors. The controlled, but to-the-brim acting of Joannah Whalley and Sean Patrick Flanery is remarkable. The chemistry between the two is quiet, but forcefully evocative. Whalley has very expressive (She is such a classic beauty, no wonder the People magazine chose her one among the fifty most beautiful people in the world!!) eyes that reflect the underlying fears and tensions her character undergoes. Very controlled acting indeed. It feels the only part of her body that we see are her eyes. (Flanery's are also deep, soulful eyes that reflect his cynicism and desolation). The chirpy Alexa Vega lends a crispy tone to the film. One gets the feeling, had these three not been there, the film would have been different, not to mention, not so encaging.
Good editing work too. The film is crisp and taut. No shot is misplaced or juts out. Finally, a superb piece of direction. The director understands the meaning of economy and has made a prim movie. The way the film invokes the second world war in the background is superb. President Roosevelt's death, how the whole country is affected by it, (Tom's talk on "radiowaves" is a bit confusing, though.), families glued to the radio to hear the latest news about the President's death, the genuine sorrow which sunk America etc dovetails trim editing with supreme direction.
The secondary characters - the jealous, but concerned Silas, Miss Matty, the police inspector who arrests Tom, the elderly couple who loses their son George in the war - all are life-like and drawn in grey shades. They lend originality to the film.
A sober getaway from the usual Hollywood stuff. Something that touches your heart gently; but the pain lasts longer.