Out of the Darkness (1985)

By the 1980s there were kids’ shows on TV on Saturday mornings and the traditional cinema matinée was dead. The Children’s Film Foundation was on the rocks. The unkindest cut must have been that no one really missed it. The quality of television drama aimed at their target audience had risen exponentially during the 70s; the reels of Blytonesque japes that had once drawn pre-teens in droves to the box office now looked tired and formalistic.

If the CFF was to survive, then they had to up their game. In a series of 80s made-for-television films they did just that and, of the ones I’ve seen, Out of the Darkness is by far the best.

I’ve described it elsewhere as possibly the greatest kids’ horror film ever made. I say that in the context of its being a 1985 TV movie, of course: they had neither the funds nor the technology to make The Spiderwick Chronicles.

Given the available resources, though, this is a jolly good show, chaps!

A ghost story set against the stunning backdrop of the Derbyshire Peak District, Out of the Darkness is Stephen King for kids – and seriously spooky.

The Neil family have inherited a run-down cottage near the isolated Derbyshire village of Eyam. Mrs Neil, her children, Mike and Penny along with their friend Tom travel down to check it out. Tom immediately feels a strange connection with the derelict house. Soon he starts hearing disturbing voices, including that of a young boy desperately crying out to him.

That night, Tom sees a boy in the garden. He looks distressed – and why does he have a bell around his neck?

Mike and Penny tease Tom about all this, putting it down to his over-active imagination, until Penny, too, starts having unnerving visions, leaving Mike strangely out on a limb.

It’s only when the proprietors of their guest house tell the children about the plague that hit Eyam and the villagers’ horrific treatment of an 11-year-old boy that it all starts to make chilling sense…

The back-story is a historical fact

All the more creepy is that the back-story is historical fact, making the tale educational to boot.

Technically speaking, this is not a great film. It’s palpably low-budget and only the timelessness of the Derbyshire scenery saves it from looking more dated than it does. The inexperience of the young cast members shows through too, though that somehow adds to the charm of it. None of them aspired to a career in acting (though Gary Halliday [Tom] went on to become a film director). They were just regular kids who, thankfully, had authentic accents. It would have ruined it to have plummy-mouthed drama-school luvvies trying to “sound like wot they do oop north, like,” (a mistake the CFF made in several previous productions.)

The adult performances are all strong, though, and the cinematography exploits the remarkable location to the full.

What makes this gem outstanding for me is the way the story draws in the audience and demands a connection with the characters – Tom in particular, much as he feels connected to the mysterious ghost-boy. It’s hard to define how it manages this, but that’s why it sends such a shiver down the spine when he ends up in paranormal trouble.

I was about 10 when I first saw Out of the Darkness and it was looking rather creaky even then. But that didn’t matter: for me it was an unforgettable experience. Even now, watching it through a critical adult eye, I find it an awesome production. Having discussed it on online forums in my search for a good copy, I have discovered that I am far from the only one who feels that way.

Clip from Out of the Darkness

John Hoyland’s novella The Ivy Garland, on which the story is based, is worth reading too, but see the film first to dodge the spoilers.

I’m sure it won’t work for everyone, but if you like the concept then I strongly recommend you give this film a try.

After years of unavailability, Out of the Darkness is now on sale to European (Region 2) customers as part of an inexpensive CFF box-set called Scary Stories on Amazon UK. North American viewers may have to be more creative in their search.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0272766/combined

Believe (2013)

During the 1950s, Manchester United manager Matt Busby built the club into a top-flight team by nurturing a squad of young talented players. Such was the strength of the bond between them and their manager that they became known as Busby’s Babes.

Tragedy struck in February 1958 on their return home from a European cup match. Their plane crashed on take-off at Zurich airport. Eight of the players were killed, several others were too badly injured to ever play again. Only one, Bobby Charlton, ever made a full return to form, and even he lost all his hair in the months following the disaster.

Busby himself almost died in the crash but, against the odds, recovered to re-build the team. It went on to win the FA and European Cups the following decade under his management. Later knighted, he is widely hailed as the greatest British football manager in the history of the game.

A remarkable story worth a film adaptation

Without doubt, this tragic but remarkable story is worthy of a film adaptation. A sub-standard attempt was made in a 2011 television drama called United, which is best forgotten. Believe, a fictional account of Busby in his twilight years managing an unlikely squad of Mancunian ragamuffins to cup-winning form, is clearly pitched as a worthy tribute to Sir Matt and there is much about the film for me to like.

I mean, I’m a soccer fan. I’m a fan of independent British cinema. I love the city of Manchester and little engages me more than a good Coming-of-Age drama. Despite all that, Believe just doesn’t do it for me.

I warn you now that this review contains spoilers. I normally try to avoid them, but Believe is so predictable that I don’t think telling you what happens will spoil much at all. But if you’d rather watch the film first, then please stop here.

Jack Smith as Georgie Gallagher in Believe (2013)

The plot’s premise is promising. 11-year-old Georgie is a working-class tear-away with a passion and talent for soccer. He’s also academically bright, and his widowed mother thinks sport should take a back-seat to his education. She’s pushing him into trying for a scholarship at a top Manchester private school. Like most posh English schools, their game is rugby. And like most posh English schoolboys, they are snobs. Georgie is picked on for his social background from his first visit there.

But the headmaster is under pressure to enroll boys from less fortunate homes and offers to tutor Georgie personally for the exam. It’s clear that this is going to involve a lot of hard work and will conflict with his ambition to form a seven-a-side football team, train and enter them into a youth cup competition.

That’s what makes this film so darn frustrating. It could have been so good. But instead, cue the stinger: there’s an entrance fee for the cup competition and none of the kids has any money. So Georgie (bless his little cotton socks) snatches a rich-looking old guy’s wallet. The old guy just happens to be Sir Matt Busby, who sets off in hot pursuit.

Of course you’d never guess that he catches up with Georgie playing football in the street… And, seeing the boy’s potential, offers to train and manage their team instead of calling the police.

The irony of the film’s title is that this is one of the most unbelievable pieces of contrived schmaltz ever dramatized. And it only gets worse from there on.

Lifted straight from Billy Elliot

Another thing that annoys me about Believe is its presumption to allude to some truly great British films about young people, as though implying that it’s up there with them. The working-class kid with a frustrated talent who finds it hard to cope on a visit to a posh school is lifted straight from Billy Elliot. The widowed mother and delinquent fatherless child theme (along with the 1980s reggae/Two-Tone soundtrack) was done infinitely better in This is England. Above all, the whole idea is leached without credit from the unassuming 1965 kids’ B-movie Cup Fever: not the greatest picture ever made, but it least it featured Matt Busby in real life.

The biggest problem with the story is the character of Georgie. The whole thing hangs on the audience caring about him and rooting for him. Now, I’m the most forgiving person I know when it comes to kid characters. Where many people found Oskar in Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close intensely annoying, I thought he was adorable. The same was true of Evan in August Rush. Hell, I even have a soft-spot for Eleanor H. Porter’s Pollyanna and Nelson Muntz from The Simpsons. But Georgie Gallagher? Well, I’m sorry…

This is a kid who mugs old men in the street. Who steals his struggling mother’s savings (which she had put aside to fund his schooling). Who burgles the house of his own tutor. Who, when it comes to the crunch, turns his back on the team to which he is supposedly devoted because Matt Busby has not revealed his full identity. And what’s his excuse? That people have lied to him – a thief and spineless woos, if you ask me.

When he missed a penalty in the qualifying game, I felt it served the horrible little brat right. And when he scored the winning penalty in the final (never guess that was going to happen, would you?) it left me cold. Frankly, my dear, I couldn’t give a damn.

Credit where it’s due

Credit where it’s due: young Jack Smith tried his best to make Georgie cute enough to tug at the heart-strings and made a strong showing in his acting début. But he had an impossible task for me.

In other performances, Brian Cox is excellent as Sit Matt Busby, but he’s again let down by the schmaltzy script, which sees him drifting off into clichéd monologues about belief being the key to success in sport. I’m sure Sir Matt in real life knew that’s piffle. Belief may play its part, but the key to success is hard work and dedication and in neither of those does little Georgie excel.

Otherwise, the acting is disappointing. I like Natascha McElhone, she’s a good actress, but she was hopelessly miscast as Georgie’s mother. She just doesn’t have a struggling northern mother in her repertoire. And while, as I’ve noted, Jack Smith shows real promise in the key role, the other youngsters were clearly selected for their talents in football rather than acting. Toby Stephens as the headmaster plays the part as a piece of high camp pantomime which I couldn’t work out at all: it’s totally out of kilter with the rest of the film.

Believe won the Best Children’s Film award at the 2013 Zurich Film Festival, but that’s voted for (quite rightly) by kids themselves. I have no doubt that children love this film and don’t deny that they’re the audience it’s aimed at. But I don’t believe there’s such a thing as a good kids’ film. There are good films, and some good films appeal especially to children. A film that relies on its audience’s immaturity to miss the glaring plot-holes, weak acting and poor direction is simply a poor film.

That’s a shame, because I truly wanted to like it.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt2009606/combined

Believe (2013)

OUR REVIEW

A waste of a good idea. I can hear Sir Matt Busby turning in his grave at this insult of a tribute.

1.5

RATING

Where to watch

On Demand

DVD

The Kitchen Toto (1987)

Written and directed by Harry Hook, Kitchen Toto is a 1987 drama which focuses on particularly turbulent times during the British colonial rule of Kenya and the Kikuyu tribe uprising that sparked the aspirations of independence for the African nation. The film’s covert art and promotional materials are likely to convince potential viewers that the film would feature strong Coming-of-Age motifs. But, alas, even if such intentions were suggested, they were never fully realized.

The storytelling style in Kitchen Toto is likely to appeal to audiences looking for a more fact based, linear narrative. Despite the fact that one gets a pretty good idea of the situation in Kenya during the 1950 Kikuyu uprising, the character development in the film is only superficial. This leaves the viewer in the role of passive observer detached from the character’s turmoil and life choice.

Those same detachments unambiguously affects the performance of the main protagonist – 12-year-old Mwangi (Edwin Mahinda). A child suddenly torn from his family — expected to make adult-like decisions and judgements – is a character that should have grabbed the attention and hearts of the viewer, making one genuinely care. But that chance for a poignant rite-of-passage development gets lost in the mediocre script.

The fact that the film is from 1987 doesn’t justify the stiffness of the actors, despite the fact that similar formal performances are to be found in many British movies from that period. If only the filmmakers had established a more dramatic story development – such as a better emphasis on the relationship between Mwangi and Edward (Ronald Pirie), who is the police chief’s son, the story could have felt much more poignant. Even so, it probably wouldn’t have reached the poignancy level of Mark Herman‘s The Boy in the Striped Pajamas, which is a great example of how to intrigue and captivate the audience while recalling an important historical event.

On the positive side, the film score does highlight the atmosphere of the film, at least when considering its faux-documentary stylistics. And, while the film is unlikely to move people, one is likely to acquire a new knowledge of that particular period of British history. I will leave it to the reader to decide if that’s enough to justify 96 minutes of one’s time.

John E. Keane: music from The Kitchen Toto

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0093354/combined

Before I Wake (2016)

Starring Jacob Tremblay (whose role as Jack in Lenny Abrahamson’s film Room won him the Critics’ Choice Movie Award for Best Young Performer), Before I Wake joins the rather sporadic genre of Coming-of-Age Horror movies. The main reason such films are so sporadic is that the genre rarely allows a young protagonist to undergo a significant psychosocial development involving great conflict and transformation, which it has to do in order to fulfill the genre conventions.

Based on the film’s trailer, I had high expectations of Mike Flanagan‘s film and they were mostly met – even though the original premise (a boy whose dreams come to life) was diluted with clichés at times. The clichés were mostly due to the attempt by the filmmakers to follow the horror flick genre conventions, which makes some scenes oddly familiar (i.e. an orphaned boy adopted by a caring couple who soon discover there is more about him than first meets the eye, jump scenes aiming to surprise and scare …etc.)

While primarily typical for a horror flick, the narrative of Before I Wake features nuances about human nature, mourning and interpersonal relationships that turn the film into a psychological drama. Oddly enough, one can’t help but wish that the horror scenes relied more on steadily increasing tension than jump scares.

The cast delivers good performances and the characters do not suffer from underdevelopment. Jacob Tremblay’s character relies more on appearance than on the dialogue to develop, which works surprisingly well from the very first scenes as one is literally able to sense emotions by watching the facial expressions of the young actor.

Before I Wake features some good suspenseful scenes and a surprising plot twist at the end. These help to set it apart from most horror flicks by providing an explanation and resolution that effectively introduce the Coming-of-Age motifs that, once present, greatly change one’s perception of the film as a whole.

Granted, as with many films featuring fantasy and horror elements, one has to suspend a sense of disbelief to enjoy the film.

Before I Wake Trailer

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt3174376/

Before I Wake (2016)

In short

Before I Wake is a rare Coming-of-Age horror movie featuring some good suspenseful scenes and a surprising plot twist at the end.

3

OUR RATING

Cup Fever (1965)

The Children’s Film Foundation (CFF) made scores of kids films between the 1940s and 80s. They were low budget affairs typically about plucky kids taking on baddie grownups and invariably winning in the end.

A part of the Rank Organisation, the CFF gained a cult following among many parents as well as the kids who flocked to see the often pretty dire productions at Saturday cinema matinées in the UK. During their heyday in the 60s and 70s, it was common for A-List actors to make cameo appearances in these films (for which they were paid standard Equity rates) just for the fun of it.

With a star-studded cast and a guest-list as unlikely as it was lavish, Cup Fever was a major undertaking for the CFF. The result was a slick production that, though still weighing in at sixty minutes for the kids’ matinée B-movie slot, was clearly aiming for higher goals.

Notably, it moved out of the CFF’s southern home-counties comfort zone to be filmed on location in Manchester and Salford. This step made the London drama-school accents of many of the principal kids almost forgivable. Memorably sassy performances from young Susan George, Olivia Hussey and Amanda Humby were woven in to appeal to the girls in the audience and the finished product still makes great family entertainment.

Following the misfortunes of talented youth team Barton United, recently evicted from their ground, struggling manfully-and-girlfully to fulfill their potential, there is little cute about this story; it’s gritty northern stuff, more Byker Grove than Grange Hill. Nevertheless, Gary Mason‘s portrayal of Fatso, the podgy kid coach, will touch many hearts.

Clip from Cup Fever

Guest cameos include the then Manchester United manager Matt (later Sir Matt) Busby and the entire 1965 United squad, several of whom played a pivotal role in England’s World Cup victory the following year and went on to win Man U the European cup. This makes it worth a look for any soccer fan in a historical context, but the strong storyline and direction give it universal appeal.

Cup Fever is included in a Region 2 DVD box-set called Saturday Morning Pictures. Used copies are commonly available online.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0059074/combined

Shok (2015)

Sometimes a good film can get ruined by the bias of its screenwriter and director. That’s the case with the 2015 film Shok (Friend). Writer/director, Jamie Donoughue’s film, is a co-production of Albania and the UK. It contains his bias that any Serb = evil. In fact, the whole country of Albania is biased again the Serbs.

But if one is prepared to disregard such blatant propaganda, Shok offers a poignant Coming-of-Age narrative focusing on the friendship between two young Albanian boys, Petrit and Oki (Lum Veseli and Andi Bajgora). Despite growing up in the war-torn region of Kosovo, the boys manage to play, swap sleepovers, and have a normal childhood…until Petrit decides to earn some money by selling rolling paper to the Serbian paramilitary formations.

Petrit’s entrepreneurship places the boys in direct contact with the harsh world of adulthood cruelty, which puts a strain on their innocent souls. A fierce quarrel follows an accident – and it’s not just their friendship that is at stake…

Suppose you’ve seen movies portraying the harsh consequences that war has on children (such as the 2004 masterpiece Innocent Voices or Elem Klimov’s Come and See). In that case, you’ll recognize a lot of common motifs in the narrative that may make this film’s final resolution slightly predictable. Yet, character development has done its job (a remarkable accomplishment for a movie with just 21 minutes of screen time) and, by the end of the film, one can’t help but sense the young protagonists’ distress, fear, and tension.

Aside from the bias, Shok has no other significant flaws. It’s well-acted, well shot, and atmospheric.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4273570/combined

Crazy Love (1987)

With a script influenced (and co-written) by German-American poet and novelist Charles Bukowski, in Crazy Love one would expect a distinctive and peculiar cinematic experience.

The movie opens in a remote village in Belgium, where 12-year-old Harry Voss (Geert Hunaert) enjoys a movie at the local cinema. Wide-eyed and filled with awe, Harry allows the moving pictures to take him to a fairy tale world inhabited by a princess and brave knights fighting for her love.

Harry decides that such magic should exist in the world surrounding him until an older friend makes fun of the romantic fantasies of the little boy. That’s followed by an improvised sex-ed class diluted with explanations of what “everyone is really after”. The “lessons” are followed by practice sessions as the two friends visit a local amusement park with one goal: a first kiss for Harry and maybe something more. But thing’s don’t go as planned…

The second act of the narrative takes us several years into the future, and we see Harry, now played by Josse De Pauw, as a high school senior. Life has not treated him well, as his face (and body) is covered with a horrid case of acne. He has discovered the meaning behind love, but sharing it is quite another matter. In the third and final act of the film, we see Harry as an adult with a personality shaped by all the experiences and misfortunes of his life.

The story’s three-act structure helps define this Coming-of-Age narrative. Act 1, focusing on Harry as a boy (about 30 minutes long), is undoubtedly the part of the film that will appeal most to fans of the Coming-of-Age genre, thanks to the poignant idealistic point of view of the young Harry.

Geert Hunaert’s performance is top-notch. His facial expressions, from cheerfulness to shyness, curiosity, and awe, make his character true to life, simpatico, and easy to associate with.

That’s probably why the events in the second and third acts come across as shocking. On a personal level, I was able to associate with his older self, having chased love — aided by poems and ideals — only to realize that in real life, princesses often choose the brute rather than the knight.

The film’s cinematography impresses with its attention to detail and skillful use of tracking shots and light, used for emphasizing a setting or an emotion. The mood differs in the three acts of the narrative – and the photography morphs to follow. The music accompaniment, both diegetic and non-diegetic, features live performances that not only sound great, but also reflect on and enhance the events on screen.

I am most inclined to recommend the first act of the film, having thoughtfully enjoyed it. Yet I must admit that I was drawn by the entire story and watched the film until the very end despite the shocking nature of some scenes.

Crazy Love is among the most disturbing films I have seen but, at the same time, its narrative — soaked in darkness and tragic beauty — makes it a worthwhile cinematic experience. Recommended!

Trailer

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0092794/combined

The Kissing Place (1990)

Are they his real parents?

Tony Wharmby‘s 1990 TV film The Kissing Place is an intriguing little film about Billy (Nathaniel Moreau), a little boy who discovers a chilling secret about his “parents”. Nightmares and flashbacks lead Billy to believe that the people who he calls Mom and Dad may not be his real parents.

This raises a lot of questions (Could he be adopted, or…kidnapped?) and further confuses the preteen boy.

When Billy discovers the truth, he makes a daring escape and sets off on a trip filled with perils.

…

Nathaniel Moreau delivers a memorable performance in The Kissing Place

Nathaniel Moreau delivers a good performance in the role of Billy. His character is not very convincing at first, but as the story develops his portrayal of an innocent youth in peril improves so much so that you will genuinely start caring and supporting him. Although The Kissing Place’s narrative is not necessarily a character based one – it’s Tommy’s Rite-of-Passage experiences (his encounters with people & the choices he makes – both smart moves and mistakes) that hold the story together.

The production values of The Kissing Place do not impress. Some actors deliver their lines badly (yet others do great), not all emotions ring true, the props hint of a somewhat low budget and the camerawork is nothing to write home about.

Yet the longer you watch, the more invested in Billy’s story you’ll become. There is enough suspense, “Ah Hah!” moments and surprising plot twists to capture your attention and hold it to the end. It’s true that you’d better not expect a poignant true-to-life story, but if entertainment is what you’re after, The Kissing Place delivers.

If anything in the narrative is predictable it’s the ending: crowd-pleasingly typical for TV films. Actually, that’s the case for most films anyway (with the exception of a few independent productions whose screenwriters and directors are more daring). At any rate, for me, it didn’t ruin the overall action packed thriller experience.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0099944/combined

Night Hair Child (AKA What the Peeper Saw) (1972)

Marcus: Father’s 42. Mother was 35 when she died.

Elise: Yes, I know.

Marcus: When I’m 25, you’ll be 35.

Night Hair Child (released in North America as What the Peeper Saw) is an iconic piece of 1970s thriller-cum-horror. Commercially unavailable for many years, I saw a bootleg copy when I was at university a decade ago and have never forgotten the cleverly written screenplay and its daring themes, culminating in one of the most shocking final twists of its era.

The story could have been written for my tastes: psychological horror about intergenerational relationships with a strong Coming-of-Age theme. It has the added bonus of starring Mark Lester. This was the last in a rapid succession of Lester films made in 1971 in an obvious quest to fully exploit his boyish charms before puberty struck. In most of these, poor Mark looks understandably tired and unenthusiastic; but here was a role he clearly enjoyed playing. And what young teen boy wouldn’t have? After all, he got to grope Britt Ekland!

Twelve-year-old Marcus’s mother died, it’s said, from an undisclosed heart condition two years before. His father recently married Elise (Ekland), a beautiful woman 20 years his junior. She and Marcus meet when he returns home from boarding school for the first time. It’s clear from the outset that the boy finds her attractive, and his response is, to say the least, precocious.

When his father returns from a business trip, the tension mounts with jealous feelings all around. As Elise learns more about father and son, she begins to suspect that Marcus’s mother’s death may not have been all it seemed…

The storyline makes apparent references to Henry James’s The Turn of the Screw and develops similar themes: a boy’s emerging awareness of life and the reaction (hysteria?) of a young woman responsible for him. However, it does so in an overt manner, which James could not have gotten away with in his day. It also turns on the same tension of leaving us unsure who is manipulating whom and whether what we are seeing is reality or Marcus’s (or Elise’s) fantasies. But even those who spot the parallels in this and James’s classic will be unprepared for the climax, which jumps you from behind in an unforgettable way.

Mark Lester’s performance in this one is fittingly sinister yet charming. One can sense that he knew this part was his swansong as the cute kid and his relief is almost tangible. Britt Ekland makes a strong showing too in what turns out to be a complex role.

The production lacks finesse even by the standards of its time. It looks like a TV movie with continuity errors and has a clichéd soundtrack to match. But that very lack of pretension is part of its appeal to me.

Video review

Child sexuality and intergenerational affection have emerged as new taboos since 1971, with some justifiable cause. (The irony here is there are only ten years between Elise and Marcus; the real intergenerational relationship is Elise’s with his father.) Notwithstanding mild nudity, there is nothing indecent about Night Hair Child, but the version commonly available as What the Peeper Saw on Region 1 DVD has been significantly edited.

Some may feel that the original went too far for a modern audience and will prefer the censored version. Others may find that it’s worth the effort and extra cost of seeking it out uncut.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0067489/combined

Night Hair Child (AKA What the Peeper Saw) (1972)

Summary

A film with a cleverly written screenplay, daring themes, and an ending that possesses one of the most shocking final twists of its era.

strong coming-of-age theme

starring Mark Lester

continuity errors

a clichéd soundtrack

3.7

OUR RATING

Regional Free

DVD

Introducing Singer/Songwriter Henno William

Having just finished researching Henno William from Pretoria, South Africa, I’m convinced he is a young singer/songwriter with the ability to make a huge impression on the world music scene soon.

Emphasize “songwriter”!

Many of the tunes Henno sings are his own creations, and they show the promise of an evolving artist with an ability to bring private emotions onto a public stage! That takes a lot of courage, which he has, along with good piano and keyboard skills.

Henno turned 13 on March 28th of this year (2016), the same day he released his debut single Beauty Queen. It’s a dreamy bittersweet ballad about a special girl, which reveals a talent for composing harmonic pop songs; the kind I have rarely heard from young artists his age.

“Beauty Queen” Original Single

There is an honesty and sincerity about Henno that is likable.

Searching for more, I found Gone Without a Trace and Sad Rainy Day, both excellent songs. In Sad Rainy Day there is a beautiful sensitivity, a quiet acceptance of someone lost. The careful keyboard work varies in volume to accent the emotion. Stylistic traces of songs by Elton John, Billy Joel or Barry Manilow in this.

So! Have you heard The Golden Buzzer? Henno has!

It’s a device a judge (in South Africa’s Got Talent) can use only once to send a contestant directly through to the semi-final. In last year’s (2015) competition Shado Twala used it and golden confetti rained down on William, who sang a spiced-up version of Let it Be.

Interviewed before going on stage, Henno admitted he was “afraid” but ready to show his stuff. There’s that honesty I like! But in a different interview, he stated “I’m never nervous– I’m always excited to go on stage” Already his showmanship shines through sparkling eyes, his expressions changing as he performs. Some young artists don’t act their songs to their audience. Emotionless they stand on stage like wax puppets. Not this boy! You can see him living out his lyrics!

Two years of pro lessons have embellished a voice that is clear and confident, tender or raunchy as the song demands. Henno has also written a blues song You You-You which he performs with style.

Even though his social media channels do not yet have many songs, the ones up are worth hearing. A few do not work for me, like Who’s Loving You (cover) where the acoustic is off somehow (the mime with hat is cool though).

When asked about role models Henno answered Elton John, Freddie Mercury–older rockers. When asked about Bieber he waivered…not his style of music was the answer.

It will be very interesting to follow this artist in the coming months and years. I anticipate some fine new songs and a rapid rise in popularity.

Best wishes,

rjmendera

This is England (2006)

I grew up in northern England in the nineties. We lived in a trendy-lefty suburban village where race was not an issue (largely by virtue of the population being middle-class and near-exclusively white). However, our utopia bordered Greater Manchester, where things, as I knew, were different. Our neighboring borough of Oldham had some British National Party councillors in local government and its streets were the scene of several race riots during my childhood.

Around the turn of the millennium I started at a culturally diverse secondary school. Its catchment area included one of the most socially deprived housing estates in England, whose residents were predominantly black. On the surface there was harmony: white kids even thought it cool to toke da weed and speak like recent immingrants fram Jameeka, man. But there was real tension beneath this, which I came to understand was as much about financial inequality as it was about color of skin. And it didn’t take me long to work out that some of the biggest bigots were themselves victims of social exclusion. It was, I’m sure, this experience that led me to become a political animal in my early teens, with a near-fanatical passion for social justice and equal opportunities.

a moving coming-of-age drama

I mention this to explain why, when I first saw This is England in my late teens, I had low expectations. I couldn’t see how a film about racist skinheads could be anything more than a painfully cliché-ridden if well-intentioned piece of social commentary. I wasn’t expecting one of the best British films of the millennium to date. For not only is this an insightful portrayal of the insidious roots of prejudice, it’s also a moving Coming-of-Age drama seen through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy.

That boy is Shaun, played in an incredible screen début by Thomas Turgoose. A child of the Thatcher era, when social injustice may well have been worse than it was during my childhood, he lives with his widowed mother who has struggled to provide for him since his father was killed during the Falklands War.

Despite being a spirited back-fighter, Shaun is relentlessly teased and picked on for his uncool second-hand clothes and goaded into conflict over his father’s death. Walking home from school, downtrodden after a particularly fraught day, he runs into a gang of skinheads whose leader, Woody (Joe Giligun), unexpectedly lends the boy the kindness and sympathy he craves.

Over the course of the summer holidays, Shaun joins the gang who kit him out with new clothes and (to his mother’s disdain) a number 1 head-shave. His self-image and confidence rocket in the company of his new-found friends, who give him genuine care and companionship.

No true skinhead is a racist

“No true skinhead is a racist” is a mantra that I grew up with and there is acknowledgement here of the movement’s roots in Afro-Caribbean music and culture. This is a gang of social outcasts who are mildly delinquent but not bigoted. One of them is black (affectionately nick-named Milky). But things turn sour when a former member, Combo (Stephen Graham), shows up after a stretch in jail. It soon transpires that he is an unapologetic racist with psychopathic tendencies. Combo takes a shine to Shaun, in whom he sees many of his own qualities. When he starts jostling for Woody’s position as gang-leader there is a sharp division within the group and Shaun is cornered into making a painful choice.

This is England turns on the character of Shaun and the role demands a lot from the 12-year-old newcomer. Thomas Turgoose acquits the part with consummate ease; his performance is so natural that this often looks more like a fly-on-the-wall documentary than a drama. All the cast make strong showings, though – most notably Stephen Graham, who manages to make even his revolting character slightly likable.

Indeed, Writer/Director Shane Meadows‘ refusal to couch his characters as goodies and baddies is the story’s greatest strength for me. They’re all flawed people, some very flawed, but aren’t we all? He had an easy task in making Shaun a character with whom we can identify but it takes creative genius to elicit sympathy for a crazed thug like Combo.

Trailer

To quote the DVD cover, This is England “contains extreme racist violence and language,” and consequently has an 18 certificate in the UK. I find that a shame. This is certainly not comfortable family viewing; there is a brooding menace underlying the story and the final bloody show-down is one of the few predictable aspects of it. But in terms of actual violence, I’ve seen worse in films let off with a 15 rating. The issue here is the racist language and overtones, but these exist within the context of the film’s being a wholesale condemnation of mindless bigotry. Meadows doesn’t try to force his message on us – this is a “show” rather than “tell” movie – but its relevance to today’s teenagers is obvious. We are living in times of paranoia over immigration and suspicion towards our Asian communities. Speaking as a teacher, if I had my way this film would be a compulsory part of the high school curriculum.

British cinema at its best

This is England is British cinema at its best: gritty realism, biting observation and the revelation of uncomfortable truths. It has moments of humor and tenderness too. It’s not always easy to watch but the rewards are well worth the effort.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0480025/combined

This is England (2006)

In short

British cinema at its best. Flawless acting, superb characterization and enduring social relevance.

4.8

OUR REVIEW

Where to buy

AMAZON

Fragile (2014)

Discovering who one really is and embracing oneself can be a daunting task at any age. Portraying the process in cinema also presents its challenges as it requires a storytelling approach that allows the inner intimate world of a person to shine through.

The Australian Writer/Director Juliet Juliana Mango attempted to do just that in her 2014 short film titled Fragile. The protagonist of the film is eight-year-old Alex (Alex Bryans) who hides that he likes to play with dolls and put on make-up, gets bullied in school (implied by the bruises on his face) and faces mistreatment at home, where his dad is on a mission to shape him into a real macho boy.

While Fragile lives up to its title, the story felt somehow underdeveloped (as did the characters). This is slightly offset by the acting job of Alex Bryans, who does a good job in portraying a transgender kid. If only the script was better written, this short film could have been as poignant as My Life in Pink (original title: Ma vie en rose). Instead, Fragile was unsatisfying as the message that the film ought to emit to its audience is somehow vague (or may not even be detectable by some viewers).

Fragile does not exactly shine cinematographically or in production design as the fixed camera approach, combined with an amateurish composition, results in a lot of “dead spaces” (places in the frame where nothing really is going on). The cliché scenes are also present – i.e. the kid on the bed looking scared hugging his knees – so that at the end the film making mistakes do make themselves obvious.

But watching a film like Fragile will make you better appreciate well produced films. Fragile‘s goals of inspiring hope, understanding and tolerance are still present, which is why the film finds its place on theskykid.com.

And last, but not least, transgender kids do exist in the real world (check out Benjamin Panciera‘s channel on YouTube) and films like Fragile could ensure that such kids receive more understanding and appreciation.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4667754/

TheSkyKid.com

TheSKyKid.com

Out of the Darkness (1985)

Given the available resources, though, this is a jolly good show, chaps!

The back-story is a historical fact

Believe (2013)

A remarkable story worth a film adaptation

Lifted straight from Billy Elliot

Credit where it’s due

The Kitchen Toto (1987)

Before I Wake (2016)

Cup Fever (1965)

Shok (2015)

Crazy Love (1987)

The Kissing Place (1990)

Night Hair Child (AKA What the Peeper Saw) (1972)

Introducing Singer/Songwriter Henno William

This is England (2006)

Fragile (2014)