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Garnet's Gold (2014)

User reviews

Garnet's Gold

17 reviews
8/10

Existential and beautifully made

A rare piece where you witness hope, disillusionment, heartbreak and beauty all in one.

The cinematography and filming are wonderful. The directing and editing tell them story of a lost soul but a man who never stops dreaming and searching for joy, without realising it's right in front of him.

Worth watching to recapture how great life can be and is, because you may not realise what you have around you. This film will help establish that.
  • robd-43089
  • Jul 29, 2020
  • Permalink
10/10

Emotional, thought provoking & powerful

I stumbled across this Storyville film on BBC4 by chance. Without doubt it has a most profound affect on me which I struggle to explain. I am not moved easily but found this film has been with me since I viewed it last week. Perhaps it is because we can all see parts of ourselves within Garnet that it captures our inner imaginations and emotions. I particularly liked his interaction with his elderly mother, who proves to be a captivating woman to watch and listen to her words of wisdom. Garnet has entered my world now and I want to see and hear more of, and from, him. I hope Ed Perkins can find time to do a follow-up that has the same magic. Please watch and make your own judgment. Full marks to the writer and director Ed Perkins for his vision and wonderful photography to take the chance to share this story.
  • binns-78865
  • Mar 22, 2015
  • Permalink
10/10

Outstanding

This is quite the best piece of television I have seen in ages. Garnet and his mother will live long in the memory. The filming was beautiful, witty, and affectionate. Garnet's musings on life and love were the thoughts of an Everyman but also showed his uniquely eccentric (and poetic) talent surfacing irrepressibly. Watching his story unfold we are each challenged as to what constitutes success, the value of investing in our relationships and what's meant by leading 'a good life.' Blessed are the poor in spirit all right. Garnet's painfully honest self assessment puts him only "a little lower than the angels." There are nuggets of pure gold wisdom hidden in these 75 minutes. Well done Ed Perkins.
  • debbiethrower
  • Mar 27, 2015
  • Permalink
4/10

Schmaltzy view of an unremarkable situation

Really nothing to gawk at here. A very typical man that has shirked responsibility and failed to work toward any goal now finds himself rather hollow as his older years set in. He's reaping what he has sown. I guess some can identify with, or hope to avoid this regret. My regret is having wasted some of my time with it.

The main goal here is to go on a trek to recreate a happenstance event that he has inflated to the nth degree in his mind.

Lots of expansive camera work showing this unremarkable man standing with the horizon at his back. Purely the natural outcome of one's reactions set among some scenic, sometimes dreary Scottish landscapes.
  • cscigu
  • Apr 14, 2021
  • Permalink
10/10

A story that will bring you the compassionate facet of all of us

In a world...yes, it sounds like a movie, but, in a world of sometimes too much cacophony with adverts and sensationalistic images, we may forget the true meaning of the Human condition: to do the best with who you are and what you have and to love and be loved. Garnet frost story is unbelievable touching as it is someone redeeming himself for some unresolved finished actions towards jobs or even trying his dream. Without to tell the story, what I can say it that from the cinematography to the insight of someone's uniqueness sprinkled with a good dose of eccentricity, you will be just in awe of this film: it should be on any college curriculum to show how special people can be, even when it might not be obvious from the start.The genius of Director Ed Perkins in humbling, the passion for that project of Producers Simon Chinn and John Battsek are inspiring. The editing of Paul Carlin is masterful and the music of J. Ralph is mesmerizing: a must to uplift your soul and touch your heart forever...
  • phdgillon
  • Mar 21, 2015
  • Permalink
5/10

NOT the greatest film...... but it's free with Amazon Prime

  • driansutherland
  • Jul 19, 2020
  • Permalink
10/10

Warmth and quirkiness in one man's quest

Great story, Garnet Frost is an English gem. Beautifully filmed with some wonderful Scottish landscapes the photography is stunning. A quirky, intelligent, interesting man's journey handled by the film maker's with what felt like a genuine warmth. How nice these days to see a persons life treated with dignity and interest rather than the shoddy, "let's laugh at someone different" TV we're mostly served up. I thought this is really about a quest by a man to find his place in the world with a subplot of his search for lost gold. We see the ups and downs of an ordinary/extraordinary man's life as he struggles with love lost, the health of his mum, finances and his passionate search for Bonny Prince Charlie's lost gold ! Along the way there are pub singalongs, marauding midges, weather balloons and a marvellous taste of his poetry. As far as I'm concerned it's a little treasure !
  • chilliwin
  • Mar 22, 2015
  • Permalink
10/10

A beautifully painted portrait of a man's search for himself.

I caught this while channel hopping under it's alternative title 'The Lost Gold of the Highlands'and gave it a go expecting a history documentary...and wasn't prepared for what I got instead. From the opening few moments you fully buy into the story of Garnet, an ageing man who has never let go of a dream that has fixated him since a near death experience twenty years previously. His search for his gold is as much a search for his place in life, a yardstick to measure his own worth and his success as a man and as a human. The intimacy achieved by the filmmakers gets closer than ever and is matched only by Garnet's openness and conspires to construct a warts and all portrait that is at once about the man, and about everybody in the same breath. The cinematography and editing make this visually stunning as shots switch from extreme close up, to the wide open vistas of the Scottish Highlands. I have never seen anything quite like this, and may wait a long time until I do. Seek it out.
  • oliver_neilson-61618
  • Mar 19, 2015
  • Permalink
2/10

Great camera work

  • Erik_Stone
  • Apr 23, 2022
  • Permalink
10/10

Poignant, yet cathartic

Simply the best film I have watched in years. Such a beautiful, pure, honest and ultimately wise film whose central reflection is on the question that probably everybody ponders but rarely dares to fully explore or share with others - have I wasted my life? You will not waste one second watching this film.
  • DanielMatten
  • Jul 12, 2020
  • Permalink
2/10

Why?

  • enquiries-530-246436
  • Jul 21, 2020
  • Permalink
10/10

Superb

I was recommended this documentary by a friend and am I glad I was directed towards it. It had me totally gripped from the first take and I can only agree with what the other reviewers felt on watching it. It is both emotionally and visually stunning. As for Garnet what a character. Why he would ever see himself as a failure is beyond me. The depth of feeling which he portrayed for both his Mother and his passions was priceless. He is a real gem in life's rich tapestry. I wish him peace and contentment in whatever the future has in store for him. It was a documentary worth its own weight in gold in so many ways.Brilliant stuff Ed I look forward to your next documentary.
  • ect3
  • Mar 30, 2015
  • Permalink
10/10

One of the best documentary ever made.

The previous 6 reviews on this documentary are truly spot on. I cannot add anything else to these wonderful reviews except that I have seen this MASTERPIECE a few months ago and still cannot stop recommending it to all. In fact I will keep on recommending it forever. (Moreover it shows Scotland so beautiful therefore a tempting destination even when the weather is appalling like right now this summer). Man on Wire documentary was as excellent, what a gifted Documentary team. I hope they are going to give us some more jewels documentaries. The characters in this story are so endearing and so human. The soul searching and landscapes magnificent.
  • ffuente78
  • Aug 4, 2015
  • Permalink
3/10

Garnet's Folly more like

  • darrenarmour
  • Jun 17, 2022
  • Permalink
2/10

Beautifully Shot but Unnecessary Glimpse Into Life of a Selfish Deluded Loser

  • thebigsee
  • Dec 21, 2022
  • Permalink
5/10

Not really buying it. Typical documentary

Using words like "searching for gold", "reckless", "barely surviving", just a typical pump to draw you in. It's a nice story, but I don't buy a lot of it. Unfortunately, when you dig deep, most of these documentaries are designed to sell a story, not the truth. The story itself, however much is actually real, is ok. The scenes are quite lovely.
  • haug-49144
  • Aug 9, 2022
  • Permalink
2/10

Boring, pointless, and depressing

Let me start by saying this: I love "quirky" small movies. I don't go in for Hollyweird blockbusters... however?

This is one of the most pointless.. and worse, boring stories I have ever come across. As near as I can tell, it's a pointless story, about an irrelevant man, leading a totally irrelevant life. With no meaning or purpose. The only person I found myself caring about was his invalid mother...
  • rlhibdon
  • Jun 19, 2022
  • Permalink

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