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Reviews
The Quiet Man (1952)
The train was four hours late - as usual!!
Perhaps once in a decade or so, a film is made that is so outstandingly good, so perfect in every way, that it defies categorisation and facile explanation, while continuing to occupy a very special place in the hearts of many people.
One such a film is "The Quiet Man" - a mixture of gentle humour, romance, mystery - even violence - but without being offensive. While many films share some or all of these qualities, it is the way in which these themes are so skillfully woven together in the lives and personalities of a handful of people that helps to explain something of the charm of The Quiet Man.
With the glorious scenery around Cong in the Irish Republic around the 1900s as the backdrop, we are introduced one by one to a variety of delightful characters and to a lifestyle that sadly is no more: pugilistic railwaymen who are ready to put up their fists at the slightest pretext; the fiery Mary Kate who "packs up wallop" and has "a tongue like an adder" and her equally fierce brother, Red Will Daneher; the cheery pipe-smoking old rogue, Michaeleen O'Flynn with his horse and cart; Father Lonnergan, who is not averse to making the occasional bet on the side; the proud Widow Tulane who helps the poor; a host of other delightful supporting cameo-roles; and of course, the quiet American himself - John Wayne, playing Sean Thornton, returning to his birthplace from the steel-mills of Pittsburgh.
John Wayne must have really enjoyed making this film, which was such a departure from his more usual cowboy films. He fitted the part very well. Apparently he really was half-Irish, which must have given this film a special meaning for him. Anyway, he played Sean Thornton to the hilt, showing what a good actor he was.
Maureen O'Hara is also a total delight and thoroughly believable: I shall always associate Maureen with this film, and I like to think that she enjoyed making it too! And when that much hoped-for fight between Sean Thornton and Red Will finally does take place, it gets even the dying on their feet and out on the streets to watch! This film is a total delight from start to finish, possessing a unique charm that the passage of years can never diminish.
The Secret Garden (1993)
A hauntingly beautiful tale of personal discovery
The Secret Garden lies within the confines of Mislethwaite Manor - a remote, gloomy place just like its owner, Lord Craven who has retreated there from life's unkind onslaughts. The garden is walled off - abandoned, locked, hidden behind ivy - the physical counterpart to its unhappy owner. Only the robin knows what lies behind its walls.
Into this lonely setting made ever more memorable by the film's haunting music, stunning photography, superb cast, and outstanding direction, steps Mary Lennox - a sour, spoilt little girl, orphaned in India where both her parents died. But at Mislethwaite, she begins to discover not only her gloomy physical surroundings; in doing so, she also learns to appreciate something about the others who live there - Martha, the little maid sent to help her; the fierce housekeeper, Mrs Meddlock; Dickon - the boy on the moors with his gift for communicating with animals; and Colin - the mysterious source of crying at night that everyone at least initially else dismisses as "the wind blowing across the moors" or another maid's toothache. Finally, Mary begins to discover little by little something much more valuable about herself and others through the transformations that begin to take place from the secret garden as well as from her relationships at Mislethwaite.
This is very much a film about personal discovery and personal growth set against the bleak background of moorland, mists, and the gloomy interiors of Mislethwaite. The film strongly suggests that some form of magic intervenes to make possible the processes of discovery and ultimately, healing. And it is not only Mary who makes discoveries - so too do Colin and Lord Craven, and to a lesser extent, the others at Mislethwaite.
The tantrums, outbursts of temper and sulking which all figure so prominently in the story might lead some to suppose that this is primarily a film for and about children. But the story is a sensitive exploration not only of childhood but also of human relationships on a general level. It functions as a sort of magic carpet that whisks us off to realms in which we might just possibly recognise fleeting glimpses of ourselves. As such, some might classify "The Secret Garden" along with "The Railway Children" (1970) - an elegy about personal discovery, development and healing within the more general contexts of a therapeutic environment and learning how to live with other people.