On the Black Hill

Clearly, the identical twins Benjamin and Lewis are not identical twins. If one stretched the imagination, they could be seen as fraternal twins, but that's pushing it. One is much older than the other.

Of the actors who play the adult brothers, the award for Best Actor would surely go to the shorter of the two, even though he seems much too old for the part. He has a subtlety that the taller, younger-appearing actor does not. He can change his expression and demeanor without moving a muscle in his face or body, while the taller one manufactures expression.

This movie is rather hard to follow, at times.

Without pretensions of being anything other than what it is, which is a thoroughly grounded adaptation of Bruce Chatwin's novel of life in the Welsh borders across 80 years of the twentieth century, through the experiences of a Welsh hill farmer, an English lady and their twin sons, this is a thoroughly engaging portrait that brings the place and its people to life. The filmmakers had a low budget, but plenty of time to get things right, so the locations - from just north of Brecon across to the Black Mountains, with scenes in Hay-on-Wye and Crickhowell - are perfect, and with props and furniture borrowed from people and houses in the area, there is an authentic sense of place here. Director Andrew Grieve was brought up in mid Wales, so has a real feel for the area too, and has made one of the surprisingly few British films in which the landscape of Britain is filmed with an understanding of the role it plays in people's daily lives.

A slow burner for sure, but one of the films I saw as a teenager, along with Life is Sweet, Boys from the Blackstuff, that had the same feeling of taking you into different lives, different cultures, and ways of thinking that are , for better or worse, no more than nostalgia.

It's not an uplifting film at first watch, but the sensitivity it deploys without the expense of becoming sentimental is beautiful. The landscape is brutal and barely productive, but the attachment of the family to it is mirrored in the attachment of the brothers to each other and their father's legacy.

I hope the BFI ensure this is preserved in their archives, it's surely worth it.

It shows that this is a novel adaption. The first thirty minutes rush through the plot, introducing subplots that are never picked up again. The middle part and end is not bad, but overall it is just an average movie based on a much better novel.

This is the kind of movie that picks some characters and show their entire life, from their childhood until their death. Here the story is about 2 twin brothers who are very different but are very close too and who have lived in Wales since their birth in 1900. The movie begins explaining how their parents met, fell in love and married and later it centers in the 2 brothers, how they grow, how the 2 World Wars affect their lives and their little problems on the Wales countryside. A marvelous and beautiful film, perfectly directed and acted. A must see. 9/10