Today’s movie is a comedy drama with a scene that happens on June 21. I
hope you will watch this movie tonight and enjoy it.
THE ENGLISHMAN WHO WENT UP A HILL AND CAME DOWN A MOUNTAIN
During World War One two English cartographers, the pompous Garrad and
his assistant Anson come to the Welsh village of Ffynnon Garw to measure the
height of what the locals call “the first mountain in Wales”. They tell the
locals that a mountain must be more than 1000 feet high and the locals bet on
the exact height of their mountain. Their announcement that the hill is only
984 feet is met with consternation. After a public meeting to consider what to
do a plan is devised to haul enough dirt from the valley to make up the
difference. Morgan the Goat, reprobate
owner of the inn where the Englishmen are staying sabotages their car to keep
them in the village until the hill is a mountain. On June 21, 1917,
[33:04 to 52:46] after Rev. Jones is unable to convince the schoolteacher to
dismiss school, parents get their children out of school so they can help with
the plan. Working together, with renewed optimism (which was Rev. Jones
intent), the villagers start adding dirt to their hill to make it a mountain.
Morgan recruits Betty to charm Garrad and keep him there through a rainy spell
during which they can’t haul dirt. However she falls for Anson instead. In spite of their efforts the two Englishmen
can’t get out of town until they announce early on Sunday morning that they are
leaving by train the next morning. Rev. Jones to the surprise of Morgan takes
as his sermon text Psalm 99:9 “Exalt the Lord our God and worship at his holy
hill” and tells everyone he is going to haul dirt and that he expects them to
do so also. The villagers haul dirt the
entire day, with even Anson helping, until Rev. Jones has a stroke and dies.
His burial means the work is not complete until it is too late for Anson to
take his measurements. However Betty volunteers to keep him company until the 5
a.m. dawn. The two come down the mountain the next day to announce its height
is 1,002 feet and that they are engaged. In an epilogue, when the mountain is
re-measured recently it was only 997 feet, so the villagers again haul dirt to
the top to restore it to mountain
status.
This is a very low-keyed, dry
humor kind of film. However I do like it especially since I’m of part-Welsh
ancestry myself. The poor English are no match for the slyness and
determination of the Welsh. Hir yn byw Cymru!
When Rev. Jones goes to the school at 34:17 that date is the
one on the calendar
Producers - Bob Weinstein, Harvey Weinstein, Sarah Curtis,
Sally Hibbin, Robert Jones, Scott Maitland and Paul Sarony
Director - Christopher Monger
Screenplay - Christopher Monger
Runtime – 1 hour 39 minutes
Released – May 12, 1995
Starring –
Hugh Grant as Reginald Anson
Ian McNeice as George Garrad
Tara FitzGerald as Betty
Colm Meaney as Morgan the Goat
Ian Hart as Johnny Shellshocked
Robert Pugh as Williams the Petroleum
Kenneth Griffith as the Rev. Jones
Ieuan Rhys as Sgt Thomas
No comments:
Post a Comment