The Leaving of Liverpool

Unmissable film about orphans who have been shipped off to Australia then later finding out that one fifteen year old girl isn't an orphan after all. Beautiful film, full marks. This one really sets you thinking, unjustly unheard of by most. Even though I only saw it about two and a half years, ago I still find it great.

This film was truly amazing to watch and i would watch it again and again if i could. It is a story of true compassion and friendship and will always be remembered by me as a true great. It truly is wonderful the dialogue was brilliant the acting was brilliant. Marks out of ten i give this film a positive 10/10.

Because I live in Australia and most of the speech in Leaving of Liverpool was spoken in a very heavy English accent, I couldn't tell what was being said some of the time. However, I have to say that the acting of the two main cast members, Kevin Jones and Christine Tremarco, was absolutely fantastic. Their raw, honest depictions of their characters (Bert and Lily) gave so much extra depth to the story and truly made the audience feel the terrible anguish of the experiences that the children went through.

'The Leaving of Liverpool' brings into the open one of the UK's greatest shames of how young children, orphans or those who had the misfortune to hail from lower class homes, were snatched from all that they knew and loved to be transported to far-flung countries such as Australia, Canada and South Africa. This was not a government-sanctioned crime of the Victorian era but happened between the late Forties right up until the relatively recent Sixties.

This BBC TV drama follows the plight of twelve-year-old sweethearts Bert and Lily and their young friends as they are wrenched from their native Liverpool and transported to lead harsh new lives in Australia, a country so hot and unfamiliar to children who had never been outside their own city before let alone travelled to a foreign country.

The film highlights not only the abusive treatment the children endure but how the long boat journey itself was treacherous. It also shows how many of these children were lied to with officials telling them their very much alive-and-well parents were dead. The excellent quality of the child actors involve allows the audience to feel an emotional connection to them and empathise with the cruelties they suffer from those who were meant to care for them.

The only quibble I have is why this excellent drama is neither available to own on DVD nor aired more on TV as it's a shame that more people are not aware of it. It's also sad these now grown children's plight hasn't been publicised more.

This gripping, moving and sometimes disturbing portrayal is so powerful that it will leave you deep in contemplation but at the same time hand you a sizeable chunk of cheery satisfaction, for this drama boasts a finely executed array of acting talents that make this lengthy time piece perfectly believable. A UK drama that Britons can be truly proud of.

PJW