Yr Ymadawiad

When the real premise of a movie is hidden until the very last scene, someone's done a good job because at that very last scene, you find yourself rethinking everything you thought you already knew from prior scenes.

Ultimately, this movie is about second chances, and how second chances are earned by relatively flawed good character, or blown by bad character. A nice literary fiction - character development story.

The cinematography isn't great, but the story makes up for it.

The Passing is an excellent feature that belies its low budget production. Beautifully shot and well- acted, with an intriguing script and embellished by a wonderful score, it's a real shame this film has not found a wider audience. I wonder of the fact that it is a Welsh-language feature (the first ever, I think) has put people off? That would be a shame because the film bears comparison with any European film of a similar ilk. It's well worth seeking out. So far, The Passing is only available via the BFI website (which is how I came across it), but hopefully it will make its way onto a more mainstream platform before too long. Highly recommended.

The opening scene sets the tone for the entire film, i.e. dark, brooding, virtually no dialog and painfully slow moving. The positive reviews and award nominations convinced me this would be worth watching, however, I found the actions of the characters to be implausible throughout the film making it difficult for me to become immersed in the story.

Still, the cinematography was somewhat captivating, so I hung in there for the big reveal at the end, but once again was disappointed to find nothing particularly clever about the troubling past of the three characters as it was gradually revealed to the audience. I suppose, learning the back story of each character will be interesting for some viewers, but anything less than 5 stars from my perspective suggests my time could have been spent watching something more worthwhile.

Iwan and Sara (Dyfan Dwyfor and Annes Elwy) are rescued from a river, having driven their car into it. Stanley (Mark Lewis Jones), their rescuer, lives a rugged, solitary life in the Welsh mountains. He takes the couple back to his farmhouse to recuperate. Over time, stories are told and secrets are revealed, leading to a final, unsettling disclosure.

THE PASSING is a somber film that appears to make little sense until the denouement. Everything becomes clear at that point. This movie draws from a long tradition in supernatural tales. To say more would ruin it. A second viewing is recommended in order to see what wasn't so obvious the first time...

Cinematography was alright but the rest was a bigger waste of time than threasa mays primistoral time so far. DO NOT RECOMMEND