A film best encapsulated in the words of the late, great Dave Berry, author of the definitive 'Wales and Cinema - the first hundred years', UWP, 1994:
WARNING - SPOILERS "Directed by Endaf Emlyn (b. Pwllheli, 1944), whose emotional identification with, and knowledge of, the Snowdonia of Caradog Prichard's novel enabled him to realise (and release) the many layers of emotion in a deeply personal work. ... The film deals with the last days of a man riven with guilt all his adult life after a fatal aberration in youth. He feels guilty not only for the violence which led to a girl's death, but his failure to prevent his unhinged mother from entering a mental institution. He returns to his home village to complete the cycle by seeking absolution ... and the use of woods, hills and barren landscapes in sharp juxtaposition with claustrophobic looming interiors which hem in the protagonist, can scarcely be faulted. The film gains immeasurably from fine editing and the beautifully modulated performance of Dyfan Roberts ..."
The excellent screenplay by Gwenlyn Parry, and the haunting use of music add greatly to the overall impact of a film that does justice to the great Welsh novel it is based on, and which has been widely read across the world in many translations. The film, too, was well received on its international release. This is a film that deserves to be more widely known in Britain, yet - shamefully - isn't.
WARNING - SPOILERS "Directed by Endaf Emlyn (b. Pwllheli, 1944), whose emotional identification with, and knowledge of, the Snowdonia of Caradog Prichard's novel enabled him to realise (and release) the many layers of emotion in a deeply personal work. ... The film deals with the last days of a man riven with guilt all his adult life after a fatal aberration in youth. He feels guilty not only for the violence which led to a girl's death, but his failure to prevent his unhinged mother from entering a mental institution. He returns to his home village to complete the cycle by seeking absolution ... and the use of woods, hills and barren landscapes in sharp juxtaposition with claustrophobic looming interiors which hem in the protagonist, can scarcely be faulted. The film gains immeasurably from fine editing and the beautifully modulated performance of Dyfan Roberts ..."
The excellent screenplay by Gwenlyn Parry, and the haunting use of music add greatly to the overall impact of a film that does justice to the great Welsh novel it is based on, and which has been widely read across the world in many translations. The film, too, was well received on its international release. This is a film that deserves to be more widely known in Britain, yet - shamefully - isn't.