Moviola > Films > From Time to Time

From Time to Time (PG)   133 mins

Director:  Julian Fellowes

Screenplay:  Julian Fellowes from Lucy M Boston's book

Cinematography:  Alan Almond

Original music:  Ilan Eshkeri

In times of war two centuries apart, two distinct worlds are linked by a single family and the house in which they live.  It is 1944 and 13-year-old Tolly Oldknow (Alex Etel, Millions) is sent to spend Christmas with this grandmother (Maggie Smith), while his mother searches for news of his father in wartime London.  In the old house, he becomes a witness to events during the Napoleonic wars and finds himself slowly drawn into participating in the drama.  Invisible to most people in the past, yet able to move amongst them, he begins to unravel the mystery which has bewildered his family for two centuries.  The solution to the puzzle leads him into his greatest adventure yet.

"I've wanted to make this film since I was a child because I have been in love with the Green Knowe books from when I was first given them by an aunt at a very young age," explains writer/director/producer Julian Fellowes on the enduring charm of these books.  "I love this film.  I love every one of the performances given by the really wonderful cast I have somehow been allowed to assemble."  And it really is a wonderful cast, including Hugh Bonneville, Timothy Spall, Carice van Houten and Harriet Walter.  For Julian, who is a resident of Dorset, relocating the story form Cambridgeshire to the West Country "brought two major blessings to the shoot, the first was to be able to invest the film with the beauty and mystery that this area of England seems to have in such abundance, the second was to sleep in my own bed."

"This haunting ghost story is an old-fashioned family film that will delight both kids and adults.  Shunning Harry Potter-style special effects in favour of traditional storytelling, this charming British movie is reminiscent of The Railway Children or The Secret Garden.  Director Julian Fellowes - who also penned the screenplay - masterfully weaves the two times together, presenting the 1940s in a bleak palette of browns and greys, while the past is in rich, vivid colours.  The period detail is exquisite and there is plenty of humour and even a couple of scares for the kids."  Eye for Film

For more information, and to see a trailer and stills, visit the official website at  www.fromtimetotimemovie.com

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