A Month in the Country

When an arm or leg is removed, the amputee can continue to 'feel' it for some time afterwards. The phantom limb can hurt, or itch, or feel cold. But nothing is truly the same.

Similarly, the First World War irrevocably altered Britain, but in its immediate aftermath we limped on, unaware (or unwilling to admit) that anything had changed. It's this brief period of denial that Month in the Country illustrates: the moment when we teetered on the edge of the 19th century before toppling into the 20th.

Consequently, while it is a film of great heartbreak and loss, it is also one of great hope and triumph of the human spirit. There is one scene that perfectly illustrates this: a little girl visits her friend, who is sick in bed. She talks about the weather and her new hat and how they'll play together when her friend gets well. Then as she walks back home she says to Colin Firth

'She knows she's dying, doesn't she?'

It is as tragic for the girl to be so knowing and capable in the face of death as it is for young men to have experienced the hell of the trenches and return to indifference and hostility. But because of that tragedy they will go on to experience a more real, and potentially more joyful world, than the other inhabitants of comfortable and conventional Oxgodby.

This pastoral English period piece must be one of the quietest anti-war movies ever made, with a single gunshot heard throughout the entire film (except for the brief battleground flashback before the opening credits), and fired only by a sportsman. But its effect is no less traumatic on the shell-shocked protagonist: a veteran of The Great War taking refuge, after the Armistice, in an isolated English village, far away (except in his nightmares) from the trenches. Hired by the local church to excavate a medieval mural above the alter, he uncovers, in no particular order: an age-old mystery; a bittersweet attraction to the vicar's young wife; a kinship with another ex-soldier (Kenneth Branagh, pre-'Henry V') and, finally, some of the dignity he lost in battle. Don't expect any grand gestures from the leisurely told story. Any positive response to the film will depend entirely on a tolerance for such anachronistic virtues as forbearance, charity, and forgiveness.

It is a movie like a good book, you want to cozy down with on a long winters night....it said more than it showed and it showed more than it said..the parting of Birkin and Moon mostly, Birkin, had me watching it several times,,what were the questions and the answers?...it reminded me of "Waiting for the Moon" with Linda Hunt...thanks

I think this is the most-watched movie in my collection. Its strong passions are beautifully understated by the entire ensemble, which is the thing that I appreciate most in this film. All the cast are excellent, including the children (and I must add a special appreciation for Jim Carter, who has played opposite Firth in at least two other films that I know of), but this is an absolute tour de force for both Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh. The viewer seems to share the pain and humiliation borne by the sufferers of "shell shock". Their encounters with the joy and grief inherent in the life and people of a small Yorkshire village are both poignant and humorous.

The slow pace enriches the character development and story. It mirrors the patient process of both leading characters' pursuits: Firth's character uncovers a medieval church mural slowly and carefully, as Branagh's seeks and uncovers a mysterious grave. Both work with an audience of curious local villagers by day, and wrestle with their personal demons by night. Slowly new bittersweet relationships develop as the summer progresses. I pity the impatient of this world who can't focus their attention long enough to take in or appreciate the rich content of the performances, the subtle direction, the beauty of both the cinematography and the music.

This movie is a gentle and uplifting experience each time it is viewed! A movie to be savored. I highly recommend it!

I saw this film probably 15 years ago, and have never forgotten it. It's about two World War I soldiers who are recuperating at a church. The one is trying to find the remains of the local priest - it's been a while so my brain's a bit rusty - and the other is revealing a mural on the church wall. There's also a love story/triangle to it. It is fabulously acted and demonstrates the horrors faced by men during war time. Kenneth Branagh's performance is worth the price of rental alone. Colin Firth manages to act for a change, rather than seem like he's sleepwalking. (Check out Apartment Zero, another older and decent film.) Exceptional!