L'Anglais qui gravit une colline mais descendit une montagne

This film is a gentle, affectionate portrait of a village in Wales, its people and its Mountain. Within the village, there are long standing feuds and traditions. Then, two Englishmen arrive with a job to do and history is made. It may or may not be based on a real Welsh village. The writer and many of the names in the credits have Welsh sounding names. The scenery is beautiful and the characters are delightfully observed. It is a piece set at the time of the First World War. It has echoes of Under Milk Wood, of The Shooting Party, and of Clochemerle. Kenneth Griffith was memorable in Clochemerle and plays the Reverend Jones in this film. At first, Hugh Grant seems to be playing yet another floppy haired, romantic hero, but as the film unfolds, there is greater depth to his character. The harsh reality of mining is simply portrayed and we are reminded of the heightened need for coal in wartime. The Great War itself casts a shadow over the whole village, making the film poignant and touching.

Most people I've asked about this movie have never heard about it and I think it's a real shame. Set against picturesque background of Welsh countryside and leisurely paced this movie totally won me over with its gentle humor and its colorful and beautifully developed characters. I'm not a big fan of Hugh Grant but here he performs quite well. Besides he is not what makes this movie work.

I just love all the supporting characters - Thomas Twp and Tara Fitzgerald as Betty and of course the pair of local archnemesis Rev. Jones and Morgan the Goat. I've seen Colm Meany in a few movies and on TV (I think he plays in one of the Star Treck series) and I've never thought much about him as an actor but he is simply hilarious as Morgan.

So what is this movie about? There isn't much of a plot so without giving anything away I'll just say that it's about a sleepy Welsh village coming together for a noble cause. What's the cause and would you find it noble?

Watch the movie and judge for yourself.

I know the area where this film was made and I have met many of the locals who's lives were affected by the film crews. People's windows were removed and replaced with older looking ones, some residents were sent on fully expensed holidays and telephone poles were taken down.

Most of the remarks I heard were quite negative, but at least the local pubs and hotels were full. Hugh and the other stars stayed at the Lake Vrnwy Hotel which is about 7 miles away from Llanraedr Ym Mochnant the village where the pub, garage etc were situated.

The pub in the movie wasn't a pub at all, but it is now. After the film crew packed up, the Hargest sign in the shop next door was left and is still there.

The police station was fake and is actually the village bus shelter which had a structure built around it.

The butchers is real and a very good butchers it is too. Run by Roger Evans for many years now, his wife played a small part in the film, she appears at the school and announces "we've come for the children".

The mountain which is shown in the film looming over the background of the village, is actually three miles away at Peny Bont Fawr. I've spent considerable time in the locality, staying at Peny Bont and I always called it Hugh Grant's mountain.

There are some very nice pubs in the area and the scenery is breath taking. If you are in Llanraedr, you can drive up to the Pystil Falls, the highest waterfall in Wales.

Go in late spring and the falls are at their fullest, following the melting of the mountain snows.

Incidentally, the pub that wasn't a pub is now a real pub and has been for about 4 years now.

In 1919 the first world war is raging but in a small Welsh village two Englishmen arrive to measure the village's mountain. When a pre-assessment reveals a prediction of below 1000ft the villagers are worried – but are incensed when the official measurement is 20 feet shy of `mountain' and they find they now have a `hill' instead. They plot to keep the men in the village until they can pile enough earth on top of their hill to make it over 1000ft and win back their mountain.

This film starts strong with a great sense of humour that it can't quite sustain but is enough to win you over and get into the story. The romance doesn't come into the film until he second half but the whole film is very gentle and winning so that it all just flows together so very effortlessly. The humour at the top is a little sharper and it gets progressively slighter and mushier as it goes but it still works well. Anyone who loves the Ealing comedies should enjoy this, as it appears to aspire to that mould.

I really dislike Grant and find his whole stuttering, blinking act to be annoying most of the time – Mickey Blue Eyes is an example of the sort of performance that makes me want to give up hope for cinema. However here it works dammit! He does his usual stuff but it fits perfectly because his character has no malice and doesn't go against the stuttering etc. The support cast is rich with humour. Fitzgerald likewise keeps it all fizzy and superficial as the tone requires and Meaney is suitably funny. Griffith is very good and Hart is a surprising cameo even if his character is a little too serious for the piece.

Overall this is very slight and has a great feel of whimsy about it. If you're not in the mood for this sort of thing then it's light nature may annoy you but it was just the ticket for me and I really enjoyed it.

This was a very pleasant surprise, a nice movie with one of the simplest "plots" you'll ever see yet one that was fun to watch develop.

There are no nasty characters. They aren't all goody-goodies, either, but they're all interesting people to watch. The story is simply about a pair of cartographers (map makers) who measure a "hill" in Wales and much to the displeasure of the locals, it isn't tall enough to be considered a mountain, which is what the townsfolk always considered it. So, the locals work together to build it up so it will qualify to be officially labeled a mountain. Sounds simple and even stupid, but it isn't. Along the way, a romance buds between Hugh Grant and Tara Fitzgerald. There also is some nice cinematography in here.

Some might find it boring but I didn't. There was just something about this, a charm that made me feel good as I watched it and had me smiling even more by the end. This is a "sleeper," a movie you might pass up..... but don't.