Framed

Trevor Eve plays an uptight National Gallery curator. A leak in the Gallery has led to flooding and the valuable paintings have been sent to a disused slate mine in North Wales. It was something envisaged by Churchill during the war.

The arrival of the art world in the sleepy village of Manod gets the villagers to develop an interest in the art, Trevor Eve develops an interest with the local schoolteacher (Eve Myles) and a struggling petrol station finds new opportunities to stay afloat.

The drama is an adaptation of the book from Frank Cottrell Boyce, however a charming story does not translate well on screen. The villagers have too much of the yokel in them and Trevor Eve looks frankly too old to be melting for the charms of the much younger looking Myles.

The comments from the "racism, pure and simple" viewer might hold more sway if he or she wasn't called "bingedrinkingisamazing" from Wales.

Your credibility is slightly damaged by that... As for the accusation that Welsh people were portrayed as bumbling idiots, there was the usual smattering of jerks you get in any comedy drama set anywhere, and a lot of the characters were shown to be intelligent, witty and sensitive to the paintings.

Eve Myles shows herself to be capable of comedy as well as the Dr Who/Torchwood genre and Trevor Eve was his usual brilliant self. The kids in the drama did a great job too...thoughtful and comedic all at once.

I thought it was funny, interesting, diverting and a clever premise for a drama. Nothing to moan about here!

This BBC production, shown in the US on Masterpiece Contemporary, stars Trevor Eve (Waking the Dead, among many other fine productions) as Quentin Lester, a senior curator from the National Gallery in London, is given the task of storing the art masterpieces somewhere during repairs on the leaky plumbing at the Gallery which threatened to damage them.

The artworks are taken to a mining cave in Wales where they had been previously stored during WWII for safe keeping until they could be returned one by one to the Gallery. There Lester meets a community of colorful characters along with a young boy whom he believes shares his interest in art. Their teacher, played so charmingly by Eva Myles, introduces herself into his life and eventually Lester becomes an integral part of the community during his stay there.

The movie is full of mishaps and adventures, many of which involve a family who are experiencing some financial difficulties. The children in the family rally around their mother trying to find a way to help the family out during their father's absence resulting in some of the most memorable scenes.

The scenery alone is an artwork unto itself with beautiful vistas frame the village and it's town folk. It is heartwarming how everyone comes alive with the arrival of the art and a lonely, solitary man finds his true self along with them.

The acting here is superb with standout performances by Eve, Myles and especially the young children. Don't miss the elderly sisters played by Margaret John and Gwyneth Petty; they are adorable.

This little movie is fantastical and lovable, reminiscent of movies like "Waking Ned Devine" or "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain". Enjoy this gem for the treat it is.

I can't believe we're still making programmes depicting Welsh people as bumbling village idiots in 2009.

Stuff your PC rubbish, this is racism, pure and simple.

Also, why did every single person have a South Walian accent when it was set in North Wales? They'd never make a programme set in Liverpool and cast a bunch of Cockneys to play native born Scousers.

Do your research.

In fact, if you're going to make a programme this offensive and inaccurate, just don't bother.

It wasn't any good anyway.

National Gallery in London is flooded. Elitist curator Quentin Lester organizes the transfer of the collection to an abandoned mine in north Wales. Local teacher Angharad Stannard soon uncovers the secret operation. Quentin confuses little boy Dylan Hughes' love of the Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles for a love of the Italian masters. The locals start seeing the art which leads to changes. The weird butcher renovates the local pond. Dylan's mother is struggling after her husband disappeared and decides to open a cafe in their gas station's garage. Daughter Minnie Hughes is casing the cave. The Sellwood sisters have come out of their seclusion with their own painting. Questin is not a hunky lead or a terribly romantic lead. The town is full of quirky characters. They're all likable. This is a light quirky movie. The little boy is compelling. It's fun. It's heart-warming.