Planespotting

It shows how far behind my video watching has got that I just got around to watching this film which I had taped around 9 months ago.

The plot revolves around a real-life event a few years ago when a group of British plane spotters fell foul of the Greek authorities and found themselves in jail and then sent for trail on espionage charges. The Greeks simply could not believe or understand that writing down plane details was a hobby and were convinced their motives were more sinister.

The chief spotter is played by Mark Benton who is presently starring in an ITV series "Northern Lights" as well as in several TV commercials. He is making a bit a name for himself as a leading TV comedy actor and you can see why with a strong performance here that captures both the humour and bathetic seriousness of the situation he finds himself in. The ever-reliable Lesley Sharp plays his wife brilliantly and they are surrounded by a group of character actors who convey the stunning anal concentration of the group to the fore. (Examples include cell talks on the history of RAF Brize Norton whilst they are banged up and STILL spotting plane numbers from their cell windows).

In reality it is simply a tale of a group of eccentric underdogs battling against the odds in a strange land (apart from the fact it is based on reality the subject could have formed the foundation of an Ealing comedy 50 years ago) and is well worth watching should the opportunity come your way.

I am the real Lesley Coppins son, and while I never got to see this program as I live in the USA I can tell you that living through these events as they happened was comedy. The first call I received from my father (I lived in Portugal at the time) was actually filled with laughter as it seemed something that you would see in a Carry-on film. I have to say though that the poor treatment was in my mothers own words, "The best diet" she ever went on. Joking aside, while this film is a comedy drama I really would hope no one else ever goes plane spotting in Greece... There was real concern from everyone involved and fears that some may not make it back. Let alone the money that this cost most of these unfortunate people.

In 2001, thirteen British and Dutch male aviation enthusiasts which included Paul Coppin and his wife Lesley had gone on a tour of a Greek military base in Kalamata.

They wrote down the numbers of the planes. They were picked up by the police and were accused of spying.

Now planespotting is not illegal, although military installations are sensitive about it. Especially if foreigners are hanging near the bases.

This drama documentary charts the judicial nightmare these planespotters went through.

Mark Benton plays Paul Coppin and Lesley Sharp plays his wife. It starts as a romantic love story. They were in relationship with other people, get married and go to Greece for their honeymoon. Only for Paul and his mates, it will also involve looking at planes.

What looked like some farcical nonsense, became an ordeal as they languished in a Greek prison. With the prospect of spending years in jail.

The lighthearted tone worked for the earlier scenes. After all the film depicted the group as weird obsessives. The rest then treads a well worn path that has been charted in dramas ranging from Midnight Express to Bangkok, Hilton.

Plucky foreigners against a possible corrupt legal system. The jails are atrocious. None of them asked their lawyers how the Greek court system worked. Lucky for them the British press were on the case.

This really was a big story back when the real life events happened, it's a terrific adaptation, it's a good mix of funny and serious, with a tremendous cast.

It starts off in somewhat light hearted fashion, but as the story gets more serious, the tone also begins to change too, it becomes pretty serious.

It's fascinating to think how plane spotters could land up in so much trouble, but reverse it and imagine a a group of Greek geeks turning up at Heathrow and filming.

A friend of mine is a plane spotter, and takes it very seriously, I've never understood the appeal, and he tried to explain it years ago, it didn't seem that it was actually about the planes themselves.

I imagine this could have led to a bit of trouble between Greece and The UK.

Terrific cast, Benton and Sharpe are both amazing. 9/10.