On the Black Hill

Without pretensions of being anything other than what it is, which is a thoroughly grounded adaptation of Bruce Chatwin's novel of life in the Welsh borders across 80 years of the twentieth century, through the experiences of a Welsh hill farmer, an English lady and their twin sons, this is a thoroughly engaging portrait that brings the place and its people to life. The filmmakers had a low budget, but plenty of time to get things right, so the locations - from just north of Brecon across to the Black Mountains, with scenes in Hay-on-Wye and Crickhowell - are perfect, and with props and furniture borrowed from people and houses in the area, there is an authentic sense of place here. Director Andrew Grieve was brought up in mid Wales, so has a real feel for the area too, and has made one of the surprisingly few British films in which the landscape of Britain is filmed with an understanding of the role it plays in people's daily lives.