Review of Oranges and Sunshine

In the years after World War Two, the British government took away children from single mothers considered unsuited for parenthood, told them they were orphans, and sent them to Australia, where they were raised as virtual slave labour by the Catholic church. This shocking but true story is revealed in Jim Loach's workmanlike film 'Oranges and Sunshine', which follows the British social worker who discovered and revealed their plight. The film is interesting because of the awfulness of the tale it reveals; but the story of its protagonist is not so interesting in itself, and indeed, the drama itself makes the point that her story is less interesting than those of the people she helped which, by contrast, are revealed only through retrospection. It's still worth watching as a reminder of the terrible things that are sometimes done supposedly in a good cause.