Flying Into the Wind certainly raises questions about the efficacy and limits of a pastoral home education, its emphasis is less about the school teacher's job to educate the future workforce for a jobless market instead it is more firmly focused on how children can be educated outside of the system and the quality of instinctual learning away from a strictly controlled curriculum. Early on, we see David Leland's suggestion that children learn of the world around them through direct experiences, connections with events in their environment beyond the school gates and simple acts of curiosity. The juxtaposition of various elements, the court and the structures of law in contrast with the open learning in a natural landscape, the generational difference between adults and children and the idea that sometimes these differences need to be reversed and the symbolism of birth and death, is more or less a development of those illustrated in Birth of a Nation. It's a fascinating drama where Edward Bennett's directorial approach oscillates between the lyrical and the coldly formal, a gentle enough piece, almost becoming fable-like in its core coincidences and moral lessons. Backed by strong performances and a limited but fabulous piano and synth score by Ronnie Leahy, Flying Into the Wind is another great thought-provoking drama from David Leland, finding holes in the institution wherever he can. Can't wait for the next one.
