THE FLOWERS OF LIFE. (The Secret Garden (DVD))

Member Name: thingywhatsit

Product:	The Secret Garden (DVD)
Date:	30/04/06 (192 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Super film.

Disadvantages: May not be enjoyed by the unsentimental.

The Secret Garden is one of the most beautiful films that I have seen for a very long time. Released by Warner Home Video on DVD in 1997, this is a must see for all the family and its' PG rating is a fair one. Suited to a family viewing on a wet afternoon, the films takes us through the journey that sees a young girl in the 19th Century who loses her parents in India, and is shipped back to England to stay in a Rural Mansion. You begin a love hate relationship with the spoilt and overbearingly brattish Mary Lennox (played by Kate Maberly), contrasted against the child that she discovers living at the mansion who is frail and ill and not allowed the luxury of being a normal child because of his over protective carers, and the fears of his father for his sons' health and wellbeing.

Based on the works of Frances Hodgson Burnett, the story is an enchanting one, as Mary learns that her life in the old Manor is going to be very different to the life she has become accustomed to in India and here the scenes are both amusing and perhaps a little nostalgic of times gone by, and the storyline was written over 75 years ago and still has the same impact upon both children and adults alike, and I believe that this version of the film is the best. The children are played convincingly and the strengths of one child's spirit of adventure and joy for life balance perfectly against the other childs' weaknesses, and fear of treading the unknown.

The scenery within the film is stunning, and the child is drawn towards learning what sorrows lie between the Master of the Manor's memory and the garden that she finds hidden behind a door that she discovers covered with ivy, and takes her into a world of newness of thought, and a love of growing plants and restoring the garden to its former glory.

Giving away much more than this would spoil the film for those who wish to enjoy it, although I would say that this compares well with films like The Railway Children and such classics that are timeless, and that touch on a childs' discovery of their own personality strengths and weaknesses in such a way as to be a moral lesson for the child viewer, as well as an enjoyable step into another world, that of entertainment.

Compared to many films available to children, this one stands out as amazingly beautiful and touches on the subjects of sentiments, fear, pride, ambition and the belief that children have that their belief itself is enough to overcome barriers that adults put in the way of realizing dreams.

It's a pretty film, a film that will captivate the sentimental, although here, I would say that its' beauty is suitable for adult viewing as well as that of children, because of the way in which the story is presented and directed, giving a stunning backdrop for the film, and a convincingly moral stance in the world of a child without hope, one with dreams shattered, and shakes up all the emotions that would indeed be felt by children in such strange circumstance, and does it in a manner that produces enjoyment and satisfaction at having spent 101 minutes in another time, and another place, where a story unfolds gracefully, humorously in parts, and certainly believably. Director, Agnieszka Holland,
excels in portraying the art of wonderful direction and atmospheric enjoyment, and leaves the viewer satisfied with their experience.

If you are a parent looking for good all round family entertainment, then this offers a great deal at a price of eight pounds ninety nine pence, and would make a good addition to a library of DVDs to be brought out and enjoyed at holiday times rather than the "one watch" wonders produced all too often in the name of entertainment.

I loved the film, enjoyed the storyline, thrilled at the parts played by both the children and indeed the Housekeeper (A stour Maggie Smith) and what probably drew me the most towards this as a film, rather than similar stories within the same genre like Anne of Green Gables, was the Englishness of the film, and the way in which it took on the subject matter, backed up with scenery that was I was not only familiar with, but that I cherish.

Good viewing,
Believe me.

Rachel

Summary: A super film for the sentimental and the young.