Moviola > Films > And When Did You Last See Your Father?

And When Did You Last See Your Father?  (12A)   92 mins

"A parent and a child.  The past and the present.  Memories and secrets.  Can you know someone for a lifetime... and not know them at all?  The life of a father.  Through the journey of a son."

Arthur Morrison (Jim Broadbent) and his wife Kim (Juliet Stevenson) are GPs in the same medical practice in Yorkshire.  They have two children, Gillian (Claire Skinner) and Blake (Colin Firth).  Blake is 40, married with two children of his own, an established author, and coming to terms with the fact that his father is terminally ill.  The film opens with a flashback to the late 1950s, with a summer bank holiday trip to a car racing event.  Faced with a long queue of traffic, Arthur breezily drives on to the hard shoulder, waving a stethoscope, to the acute embarrassment of 8-year-old Blake.  It's the first of many flashbacks illustrating Arthur's attitude to life, and his pride in getting something for nothing.  During these childhood episodes we also meet Beaty and her daughter Josie, who may just be Arthur's child.  Adult Blake strives to find out the truth about Josie, and in doing so uncovers the interesting parameters of his father's marriage.  The film also shows us Blake's teenage years, when the awkward and introverted boy is constantly crushed by his father's need to be the centre of attention, though there are happy and tender scenes as well.  It is only after Arthur's death that Blake can make peace with his memories.
 

"Sensitively edited by Trevor Waite, the film alternates subtly, seamlessly between past and present and constantly uses mirrors to suggest the different meanings of reflection, of seeing things through a glass darkly, of viewing events from different angles. It touches movingly, enlighteningly on universal matters we can all identify with, and it does so without ever getting maudlin or sentimental."  Philip French

"You would need a heart of stone not to be moved by Jim Broadbent's excellent performance."  Peter Bradshaw

www.andwhendidyoulastseeyourfather.co.uk

Showing:

02-Apr        Abbotts Ann

04-Apr        Milborne St Andrew

10-Apr        Great Bedwyn

12-Apr        Child Okeford

17-Apr        Whitchurch

19-Apr        Liss

23-Apr        Calne

17-May       South Wonston

29-May       Milford on Sea

Last modified: 10-Apr-2008

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