Un nos ola' leuad

There have been so few Welsh language films that have received international recognition. This is one of the few that deserve it.

It paints a terrible picture of life in the Principality, but it is challenging the modest, hard working image that just about every other film tries to pass off as accurate.

Da iawn.

I've been a devoted user of IMDb since 2012, meticulously logging every single film and television show I've watched. According to my IMDb data, I've consumed cinematic and televisual content from over a hundred countries, immersing myself in a vast array of languages, beliefs, customs, and traditions.

It was IMDb itself that recommended "Un nos ola' leuad" (One Moonlit Night) to me. Lately, I've been revisiting films that premiered at festivals in years past, updating their data along the way.

This particular film garnered awards and opened at numerous festivals in 1991 and 1992, including the prestigious San Sebastian Festival and Torino Film Fest. Yet, three decades on, it seems the world has inexplicably forgotten the Welsh language.

According to my IMDb records, this is the first film I've seen entirely in Welsh. It begs the question: is the Welsh language, spoken by over four million people in one of the four constituent countries of the United Kingdom, no longer deemed worthy of cinematic representation?

If the United Kingdom is truly united, why is its film industry seemingly dominated by English-language productions?

"Un Nos Ola Leuad" is a Welsh-language film based on the renowned novel of the same name by Caradog Prichard (1961). Like its literary counterpart, the film's events unfold in North Wales, in a fictional quarrying village that clearly represents Bethesda, Gwynedd, Caradog Prichard's hometown. It's a powerful film that delves into themes of mental illness, madness, sexuality, and profound emotions, masterfully illuminating the dark recesses of the human mind.

The performances are exceptional, the cinematography is breathtaking, and the direction is assured. The film's score, composed by Mark Thomas, is nothing short of extraordinary, adding another layer of emotional depth to the already poignant narrative.

"Un Nos Ola Leuad" is a cinematic gem that deserves to be rediscovered and celebrated. It's a testament to the enduring power of the Welsh language and the richness of Welsh culture. It's a film that challenges viewers to confront the complexities of the human psyche and to embrace the beauty and darkness that coexist within us all.

I'm all for book-to-film adaptations, I mean, I'm a Lord of the Rings fan. But here is a perfect example of a film completely ruining, and not to mention missing the point, of the book. I'm currently studying the book at school and in three weeks I have an oral exam on the book. Part of the exam is to compare the book with other works we've read or seen. Needless to say I shall spend a large amount of time talking about how rubbish this film is in comparison. They've left out so many of the best parts, left out any essence of humour, left out the strong relationship between the 3 friends, made the plot linear and played up the implication that the relationship between mother and son was incestuous, as claimed by Emyr Llewelyn. If you have seen this film, or if you plan on seeing this film, I can only say one thing. Read the book instead. It is a far superior work of art.

'Un Nos Olau Leuad' deserved to have an Oscar nomination - as much if not more so than Hedd Wyn, the first Welsh language film to get that accolade.

This week I saw UNOL again on S4C with a dramatically improved digital print and soundtrack.

I appreciated even more than before the subtlety of the script and editing, using visual cues and cultural evocations (Welsh language hymns for instance) the landscape (both the industrial and astoundingly beautiful natural scenery) to stitch the panes of the quilt together - an amalgam of child's eye narrative with actual and psychological 'journeys'. An ambitious scope that was based on an equally daring and modern novel by Caradog Pritchard.

Some of this is accomplished by unassuming story telling and much by powerfully understated acting. The power of the occasional scenes of 'magical realism' was lost on me during my first viewings but I now appreciate their success in taking us over the threshold into the adult world the child (in us as well) cannot grasp - the powerful world of death, heaven and hell, sex/sin/salvation, hypocrisy and truth, both told and hidden.

I also originally wanted more demonstrative performances from the protagonist, as boy and man - but now appreciate the director letting the sheer horrors of life innocently observed speak most powerfully for themselves.

The novel is more complex and a feature film has to be closer to a short story in terms of content and narrative complexity. I judge this film as a work of art in its own right and without direct comparison with Pritchard's masterpiece.

The film has a remarkable confidence in its cinematic language but - and I make allowance for this - is at times hampered by the limited resources and cinematic film experience that Wales could muster at that time, compared with much of the European independent sector and vastly less than Holly or even Bollywood!

Yet it is still a more genuinely powerful, emotionally intense work of artistic integrity than so many of its peers from the UK, let alone Welsh language films made then or since.