When I saw this film the director gave us a talk afterwards, which nearly as engrossing as the film. It is an amazing and startling story, there was one moment when everyone (in our wonderful local independent cinema in Saffron Walden) literally gasped in unison.
This film has an engrossing story, we know this early in the film so this is not a spoiler. A mother abandons her 4 year old child to work for the Nazis, her child later tries to understand her mother. They have been estranged for many years but she tries to make amends with her.
Juliet Stevenson is wonderful - well that's a given (I love her, Truly Madly Deeply is one of favourite films ever). She apparently really wanted to make this film and made herself available. But the mother. Well she is something else. She is presented as a rather fail old lady, but she is CHILLING, brilliantly portrayed. Mesmerising. The rest of the cast are all excellent too - I personally liked the boyfriend A LOT!! (eye candy!). I think given the subject matter, we needed that!
The story has been a little adapted from real life (was a son not a daughter), afterwards at the Q and A we got to ask some questions, and mostly we asked did THIS really Happen, did she REALLY say that - can that really happen now? The answers were all 'yes'. Jeepers.
The budget was tiny by film standards, I seem to remember it was £1m or £2. Astonishing what was achieved, but one does feel a little lack of variety of locations and sets... but it doesn't really matter, thats why I gave it an 8, but maybe I sd just have gone for 10 anyway. The simplicity concentrates the mind on the story.
Watch this film, you will find yourself telling all your friends about it as I to the director, Polly, who spoke to the daughter many times, so was very moving. Really a great film. Should be HUGE!
This film has an engrossing story, we know this early in the film so this is not a spoiler. A mother abandons her 4 year old child to work for the Nazis, her child later tries to understand her mother. They have been estranged for many years but she tries to make amends with her.
Juliet Stevenson is wonderful - well that's a given (I love her, Truly Madly Deeply is one of favourite films ever). She apparently really wanted to make this film and made herself available. But the mother. Well she is something else. She is presented as a rather fail old lady, but she is CHILLING, brilliantly portrayed. Mesmerising. The rest of the cast are all excellent too - I personally liked the boyfriend A LOT!! (eye candy!). I think given the subject matter, we needed that!
The story has been a little adapted from real life (was a son not a daughter), afterwards at the Q and A we got to ask some questions, and mostly we asked did THIS really Happen, did she REALLY say that - can that really happen now? The answers were all 'yes'. Jeepers.
The budget was tiny by film standards, I seem to remember it was £1m or £2. Astonishing what was achieved, but one does feel a little lack of variety of locations and sets... but it doesn't really matter, thats why I gave it an 8, but maybe I sd just have gone for 10 anyway. The simplicity concentrates the mind on the story.
Watch this film, you will find yourself telling all your friends about it as I to the director, Polly, who spoke to the daughter many times, so was very moving. Really a great film. Should be HUGE!