It's pretty rare that I walk into my local video store (Gower Video) here in rural Canada and come out with a movie I know nothing about only to find out that it's actually a pretty good movie despite it having flown under the Hollywood radar. It's even rarer that such a flick features such stars as Christopher Walken, Alfred Molina (Diego Rivera in "Frida", Doc Oc in "Spiderman 3") and Naomi Watts (King Kong). Even Jerry Springer makes an appearance! It's even more rare to find out that said movie is filmed entirely on location in Wales. Cue *sigh* of satisfaction as I settle into my seat...
Every now and then I get a desire to watch a British movie. I know they're full of unattractive people with bad teeth. I know they aren't as shiny as their big budget Hollywood counterparts. I know the action scenes and explosions seem somehow sub par. I know all this, and yet I love them!
I won't bore you with a review. You can read a fair yet favourable one here.
I think there are a couple of reasons why I like this movie, and a couple of cautions:
1. It's filmed in Wales - some of the panoramic shots take me back to my homeland where juxtaposed with the row upon row of mining-era terraced housing in the valleys is the beautiful, wild countryside (see here for an example).
2. The film is replete with decent Welsh accents. If you want to hear a proper Welsh accent (and mine isn't one, having lived outside of the country for 10 years), watch this movie, see? Alfred Molina and Lee Evans both do decent accents. Brenda Blethyn and Robert Pugh are Welsh anyway. But it's Naomi Watts' accent that blows me away - she sounds fantastic as the over-the-top Welsh trollop. Apparently she's got some Welsh in her ancestry. The big thing about this movie is that everyone seems to be having a great time filming it, even amidst the ever-present Welsh rain.
3. There are some great shots inside Welsh chapels and Welsh churches. The script writer gets bonus points from me for subtly bringing this important part of Welsh heritage to the silver screen, i.e. the difference between 'church' and 'chapel'. Me, I was raised in a chapel. For all you Wesleyans or Methodists, there was an intriguing time in Wales' Christian history when a Methodist, Thomas Charles, led a movement of Welsh Methodists out of the Anglican Church. These people were called the "non-Conformists". To read an interesting BBC article on this era in Wales' history, click here. So props to this movie for referencing this ever-so-Welsh historicity.
A couple of cautions:
1. Death is treated in a pretty light hearted manner, and there are some outlandish scenes of over the top funerals, people masquerading as ghosts etc
2. While there are no sex scenes and very little bad language in this movie, Naomi Watts does appear scantily clad in a couple of scenes
3. There is a theme of infidelity running through the movie. While it is not condoned, it is still present. I found it strange that Betty, because she cannot countenance the thought of divorcing her husband (due to her morals), decides to stage an elaborate ruse of death...
A couple of take-aways:
1. Google the history of church and chapel in Wales - the Methodist influence begun by John Wesley, but contextualized for Wales
2. For the sake of the argument, let's place the morality of infidelity aside for a moment. In the movie, Betty had to "die" (i.e. fake her own death) to begin her new life. How many of us are unwilling to die to our loveless marriage to sin to embrace a life of hope with Christ? Part of Betty's reticence to go through with her fake death is that she's afraid of what people will say? What would people say about you if they saw you on fire and in love with Christ, instead of going through the form of relationship?
If nothing else, watch this movie for the BEAUTIFUL Welsh scenery, and then next time you're over visiting London, go left for about 3 hours and spend some time in this wonderful part of the world! Take a closer look at its beauty by clicking here.
Every now and then I get a desire to watch a British movie. I know they're full of unattractive people with bad teeth. I know they aren't as shiny as their big budget Hollywood counterparts. I know the action scenes and explosions seem somehow sub par. I know all this, and yet I love them!
I won't bore you with a review. You can read a fair yet favourable one here.
I think there are a couple of reasons why I like this movie, and a couple of cautions:
1. It's filmed in Wales - some of the panoramic shots take me back to my homeland where juxtaposed with the row upon row of mining-era terraced housing in the valleys is the beautiful, wild countryside (see here for an example).
2. The film is replete with decent Welsh accents. If you want to hear a proper Welsh accent (and mine isn't one, having lived outside of the country for 10 years), watch this movie, see? Alfred Molina and Lee Evans both do decent accents. Brenda Blethyn and Robert Pugh are Welsh anyway. But it's Naomi Watts' accent that blows me away - she sounds fantastic as the over-the-top Welsh trollop. Apparently she's got some Welsh in her ancestry. The big thing about this movie is that everyone seems to be having a great time filming it, even amidst the ever-present Welsh rain.
3. There are some great shots inside Welsh chapels and Welsh churches. The script writer gets bonus points from me for subtly bringing this important part of Welsh heritage to the silver screen, i.e. the difference between 'church' and 'chapel'. Me, I was raised in a chapel. For all you Wesleyans or Methodists, there was an intriguing time in Wales' Christian history when a Methodist, Thomas Charles, led a movement of Welsh Methodists out of the Anglican Church. These people were called the "non-Conformists". To read an interesting BBC article on this era in Wales' history, click here. So props to this movie for referencing this ever-so-Welsh historicity.
A couple of cautions:
1. Death is treated in a pretty light hearted manner, and there are some outlandish scenes of over the top funerals, people masquerading as ghosts etc
2. While there are no sex scenes and very little bad language in this movie, Naomi Watts does appear scantily clad in a couple of scenes
3. There is a theme of infidelity running through the movie. While it is not condoned, it is still present. I found it strange that Betty, because she cannot countenance the thought of divorcing her husband (due to her morals), decides to stage an elaborate ruse of death...
A couple of take-aways:
1. Google the history of church and chapel in Wales - the Methodist influence begun by John Wesley, but contextualized for Wales
2. For the sake of the argument, let's place the morality of infidelity aside for a moment. In the movie, Betty had to "die" (i.e. fake her own death) to begin her new life. How many of us are unwilling to die to our loveless marriage to sin to embrace a life of hope with Christ? Part of Betty's reticence to go through with her fake death is that she's afraid of what people will say? What would people say about you if they saw you on fire and in love with Christ, instead of going through the form of relationship?
If nothing else, watch this movie for the BEAUTIFUL Welsh scenery, and then next time you're over visiting London, go left for about 3 hours and spend some time in this wonderful part of the world! Take a closer look at its beauty by clicking here.