Post by Ladyfingers on May 31, 2020 14:15:07 GMT
Rewatched this for the first time since 1989 or so. I remembered loving it as a kid, and I was right to do so. Boorman is a bit of a crapshoot in terms of quality, and I can't even determine an signature style in his filmmaking (Deliverance? Exorcist 2? Excalibur?), but this is a modest, kindhearted little slice of life that is genuinely charming. Special props go to Ian Bannen's portrayal of the clearly intellectual but irascible grandfather who seems to be a sort of ruralist Ruskin-ite, opposed to modernity and current standards of education.
I can't think of another movie that captures a genuinely childlike view of the world quite like this one, where objectively terrible things are happening, but the kids are all cheering on the spectacle like hilarious little monsters. There's not really any plot, it's just a series of vignettes that are clearly based on vivid memories, like the schoolkids reciting their multiplication tables in flatulent gasmasks in the bomb-shelter. There's a little stageiness in the performances earlier on in the film, but it all finds its feet very quickly. Very nice natural transfer on the Blu-ray, too.