irishsounds

This documentary production, made for the BBC, tells the story of George Hackney a Northern Ireland man who managed to take some very personal and unique photographs during the 1st world War.

The photos show give us a glimpse into the lives of those who served in a way not previously seen.

George did something very unique, when a comrade was killed he photographed the grave. When he eventually returned home, he made it his business to visit the families and present them with the photographs, thus giving them some closure on their loss.

The story is sensitively told, part acted, part real footage.

I found it a very moving presentation and can highly recommend it.

Not for the unsophisticated block-buster fans or the action movie addicts. This superb, refreshingly different, historical who-done-it series takes a little bit of work to fully enjoy. It's not popcorn and candy cuisine, and it requires a degree of digesting.

It is quietly funny in places and very disturbing in others, the crumbling Empire and undertones of Nazism and not so much the gore are what I found to be the bits that left an aftertaste .

The main characters are very accessible. believable and quietly colourful. The casting, acting, directing, styling, cinematography, and for the most part the story lines were of a very high quality.

I am hooked, please sir can I have some more?

ADDENDUM: On reading some of the critical reviews, I felt I should add a further note to my very brief review in order to help place the series in a little sharper relief. One of the complaints I read was that the story lines were rather too simple, another complained that the series was slow moving.

The prime value for me in this excellent series is in enjoying the texture of the work. It is best not to view and to try to apprehend a grand master painting in the same way as one might set about enjoying a Mickey Mouse cartoon.

I loved the care taken with settings, camera angles, lighting, the colour balance etc. I loved the way both the visuals and story details were gradually unfolded and the characters allowed to evolve. My wish was rather to have some more time to explore the places, the times, and to get to know a little more of the intriguing characters.

Caveat emptor - If you want candy floss - look elsewhere.

Why was I immediately sold on this movie? Within minutes I was hooked, and stayed with it 100% right through. That, in my case, is an immediate plus point for any movie.

So how did it get me? I guess because it struck me as believable - the characters, the places, the story. Having visited the edge of the Auz outback I fully related to the backgrounds and the characters. The texture and feel of the presentation struck me as the genuine article. I have said it before about top quality film directing - that the feel was more like a documentary with real people and not actors.

The acting was excellent but not of a fine silken quality or in any way slick. Rather the characters were raw and gritty, which could explain some review comments suggesting wooden or poor acting.

This movie felt like a fly on the wall view of the hard side of a tough life in the Australian outback, replete with huge social problems, racism, and defeated and depressed people tying to survive while drugs and crime were eating into the life of the area.

As depressing as was the setting, funny enough, I was not in the least depressed by the movie. There was a strong ethical line and I felt throughout that good would make it in the end.

This is a great movie without any big name actors, without fancy settings, without a great musical score, without great special effects, without bells or whistles of any description. It is totally minimalist art. It's greatness is in the excellent direction, the acting, the cinematography, and a decent enough plot.