Category Archives: Church of England

1987, Acceptable for teenagers, Amazon Prime, Art appreciation, Art History, Art Treasures, Basically Sad, British, British Drama, Church of England, Classic, Drama, Ethical struggles, Homophobia, Hopeless Love, Love Story, Old-Fashioned, PTSD, Quiet, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sexual Tension, Slow, Small British village, Small gem of a film, Stuttering, Things Left Unsaid, Vintage Film, Wonderful acting, WWI Veteran, Yorkshire Accents, Yorkshire setting

A Month In The Country (1987)

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From Amazon Prime:

Five centuries ago, a mural was created in a country church in the north of England, and then hidden under layers of white paint. Looking at it again will be a distraction, the Reverend Mr. Keach tells World War I veteran Tom Birken, who will spend a month in the country restoring the mural.

From Amazon Prime you can stream this beautiful but sad classic British film which lasts 1 hour 36 minutes.

Direct quote from Wikipedia:

A Month in the Country is a 1987 British film directed by Pat O’Connor. The film is an adaptation of the 1980 novel of the same name by J. L. Carr, and stars Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, Natasha Richardson and Patrick Malahide. The screenplay was by Simon Gray.

Set in rural Yorkshire during the summer of 1920, the film follows a destitute World War I veteran employed to carry out restoration work on a Medieval mural discovered in a rural church while coming to terms with the after-effects of the war.

The film was shot during the summer of 1986 and featured an original score by Howard Blake. The film has been neglected since its 1987 cinema release and it was only in 2004 that an original 35 mm film print was discovered, due to the intervention of a fan.

34 years ago Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh were a mere 27 years old while Natasha Richardson was even younger at 24 years of age.  (Sad note: Richardson died in 2009 from a head injury while skiing.) Has Jim Carter, the head butler in Downton Abbey, always looked the same age his entire life?

For some reason the above quoted summaries fail to mention that the character James Moon (Kenneth Branagh) was also suffering PTSD from World War I.

BEAUTIFUL BUT SAD! (Gooseflesh anyone?)

1987, Anti-Gay Laws, Anxiety Attacks, Based on a Book, Blackmail, Boxing, British Drama, Cambridge University, Church of England, Classic, Drama, Ethical struggles, Explicit sexual discussion, Father-son relations, Friendship, Gay theme, Good Acting, Good Production Values, Government Prosecutions, Happy ending, Homophobia, Kanopy streaming, Love Story, Mostly About Sex, Mother-son relations, Nudity, Sensitive treatement of emotions, Sex Scenes, Uncategorized, Upstairs - Downstairs, Wasp Snobs

Maurice (1987)

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From IMDB:

After his lover rejects him, a young man trapped by the oppressiveness of Edwardian society tries to come to terms with and accept his sexuality.

From Kanopy you can stream this 2 hour 20 minute vintage British film made by Merchant Ivory and  based on the 1971 novel Maurice by E. M. Forster

34 years ago some very young but now well-known British actors made what  has been called Ivory’s best film. In 1987 it got rave reviews and awards everywhere except England.  In the Wikipedia article about the film, the director James Ivory is quoted as saying:

… in England, where almost every important film critic was gay, they came out against the film. Their reactions to it were extraordinary! You’d think that they would have been supportive, but they were afraid to be supportive.

Despite those actors being so young, it is easy to recognize Hugh Grant, James Wilby, Rupert Graves,  Judy Parfitt, Ben Kingsley and others.

If there is a secondary theme, it is the strict division between the upper and  servant classes.

2015, 2016, British Mystery Series, Cambridge University, Church of England, Ethical struggles, Gay theme, Murder Investigation, Murder Trial, Quiet, Religious Theme, Unmarried mother

Grantchester (2015)

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From IMDB:

A Cambridgeshire clergyman finds himself investigating a series of mysterious wrongdoings in his small village of Grantchester.

Currently we can see this  British TV Series on PBS. There are seasons for 2015,2016,and (in the future) 2017. For a really good summary see the Wikipedia discussion. My best reason for recommending this detective series is that despite there being murders, the atmosphere is gentile and pleasant.

All the episodes revolve around the two main characters Sidney Chambers (the priest played by James Norton) and Geordie Keating (the detective played by Robson Green).  Sidney’s guide is his religion whereas Geordie is guided by his hard-bitten cynicism. Sidney and Geordie complement each other, work together well, but are often ethically at odds.

As astounding as it may seem, James Norton also starred in the wonderful but grim British TV series “Happy Valley” where he portrayed the warped, evil, and vengeful Tommy Lee Royce.  Sidney Chambers is as appealing as Tommy Lee Royce is repellant. If you are into “grim but great”, then do NOT miss “[Un]Happy Valley”.

Robson Green is also worth watching in the TV series “Wire in the Blood” in which he is a psychologist who gets inside of the minds of both killers and victims to aid the police in solving gruesome serial killings in Northern England. Be careful, however, because the first episode in that series is a bit ugly.

Again Robson Green is worth watching in the TV series “Touching Evil“, another twisted and gritty series in which he was brought back to life through the miracle of medicine, now walking a tightrope on the edge of sanity as the semi-suicidal detective hunts down serial killers and other perps through his gift for thinking like they do.

In summary “Grantchester” is  civilized whereas so many other British detective series can be grueling to watch.