Moustroll Good movie but grossly overrated

Intcatinfo A Masterpiece!

Odelecol Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

Robert J. Maxwell Alan Bates is a wounded, pursued, exhausted, tattered criminal who winds up in a barn in Lancashire, where he is suddenly discovered by the three children of the Bostock family -- Hayley Mills (the oldest), Diane Holgate, and Alan Barnes. Startled, they leap back as he pulls himself to a sitting position on the hay. "Who are you?", asks Mills. The man moans, "Jesus Christ," and passes out. Believing he is that, the kids believe he can do anything and is infinitely good. They care for him and keep him a secret from the adults, though every other child in town comes to stare at him in awe. His presence is accidentally discovered by the father, Bernard Lee, and the police take him away.The first time I saw this I felt it was not much more than an implausible story aimed at the family audience. (How could school kids ranging in age from about five to about twelve be so naive?) A kind of a Hallmark Greeting Card of a movie with pretty thoughts. And movie children in general should be struck regularly like gongs. Seeing it again, recently, I think there was rather more to it than that.Maybe I can give an example of what I'm getting at. The three Bostock children have just discovered "Jesus" in their barn but, not being particularly religious, don't know much about him. For instance, what will happen if the adults know he's here? Will they crucify him again? And, if he's so all-good, then why did he let the little boy's kitten die? Why does ANYTHING die? So they search out the flinty-looking Vicar who is lunching in town and Mills begins eagerly asking him these tough questions. The nonplussed Vicar dabs at his mouth with his napkin, harrumph, and launches into this gobbledygook speech about how things have to die to make room for new things and how God has more on his mind than just a kitten because he's got the whole world to worry about and we're hurting God more than he's hurting us.Mills listens intently, nodding along with the spiel. She thanks the Vicar, grabs the hand of her little brother and they scurry through the door. The little boy looks up and says, "He doesn't know, does he?" And Mills shakes her head vigorously.The movie wouldn't be as good as it is -- and it IS quite good -- without the performances, the minor characters as well as the principles. I probably shouldn't say this but Hayley Mills was an appealing young girl -- maybe fourteen or fifteen when this was shot -- and sexy too, with her pale forehead, cascade of wavy blond hair, over-sized dark eyes, and plump lower lip. She's also a believable actress. She throws herself into the role with genuine spirit. The two other kids are fine as well. Her younger sister is probably more beautiful, a little angel with hooded eyes. She has the face of the kind of seraph that would inspire St. Teresa of Avila to levitation. The littlest sibling, the boy whose kitten dies, looks like the crudely captious rascal he is, with a scratchy voice and a penchant for calling his sisters names ("You rotten cow") and getting swatted on the head for it. The character is just short of being cute.There's no space to get into it but those questions that Hayley Mills asks of the Vicar are the same that any thoughtful Christian at one time or another asks himself. If God can do anything He wants, then why is there so much evil in the world? The typical Christian answer is that God is testing us. He gave us free will, so we can choose to do either good or evil. Rewards and punishments will be handed out later. Other religions, like Zoroastrianism or Manichaeism, tried to resolve the conundrum by denying God's omnipotence and posing an equally powerful force of darkness. This is a story about children but it's made for grown ups.I was very happy to see that Alan Bates' criminal didn't turn out to be innocent of the crime for which he is going to be punished -- ie., crucified. He appears to be guilty as hell. When the police search him, they find a wrinkled illustration of Jesus torn from a Bible (spelled by the little boy, "B-I-B-E-L") and one of the arresting cops remarks, "You're going to need more than that where you're going," and throws the illustration away. And throughout, Bates does nothing that doesn't advance his self interest. He never says, "Thank you." The final scene has Bates being marched off by the police. He doesn't acknowledge the presence of any of the children who surround the farm's gate, not even Mills, who has a tear on her cheek. I'm ashamed to say that I found the scene touching and even moving. I hate seeing innocence so trampled on, having once been innocent myself.Malcolm Arnold has written a sprightly score that belongs in a nursery but turns a little melancholy when circumstances call for it. It's amusing to hear echoes of Arnold's Martial trumpet ta-ta's left over from "The Bridge on the River Kwai." The direction by Bryan Forbes does all it needs to do. The Lancashire location adds a dismal atmosphere, all ditch and drizzle, fit for rubber boots and raincoats.

jadedalex "Whistle Down the Wind" is a lovely, moving film about the simple faith of children.A murderer on the run (Alan Bates) is found in a barn by some children, who come to believe the fugitive is Jesus Christ. This is all because the Bates' character, surprised by the kids, exclaims "Jesus Christ!", unaware that the children have asked him who he is.The unfailing conviction of the children is a beautiful thing to watch. The adults are all cynical. The parents are suspicious. At one point, the children seek out advice from a priest, who is but a blubbering fool. The kids soon realize that he knows nothing.It's a very simple story told extremely well. This may be one of the young Hayley Mills' best performances. Her unwavering belief in her Jesus drives the story.The end of the film finds the Bates' character hauled away by the police. But this only strengthens the children's belief that he was Jesus. This film is never "preachy". There are some fine comic moments. In one scene, the children beg "Jesus" to read to them, and Bates starts reading from a pulp magazine from the period, a soap opera about a certain "airline hostess". The children listen intently, but they wanted to hear biblical stories all the same.The film honestly answers the question: "What would happen if Jesus came back?" He'd be jailed, possibly crucified all over again.The boy playing Hayley Mill's younger brother is the only one who's faith is shaken at the end. When "Jesus" fails to save the boy's dying cat, the young man comes to realize that the Bates' character is not Jesus. "He's just a fella", says the boy, sounding like Judas Iscariot.The soundtrack features a very simple lovely childhood tune, which becomes an anthem to the children's simple belief.This is a rarely seen film and it seems as if it's been all but forgotten. Not a flashy movie by any means. I'm thinking how wonderful the Deborah Kerr film "The Innocents" is. I don't know if these movies are discarded simply because of future generations that refuse to watch black and white films. But I consider "Whistle Down the Wind", along with "The Innocents" a real treasure of British cinema.

mlraymond The direction by Bryan Forbes, and the fine screenplay, help to make this poignant little story avoid sentimentality and cuteness in its presentation. The film is brilliantly realized, with wonderful performances by the children, who are all completely natural. The movie does not idealize children, but shows them honestly, in all their petty arguing and jealousy, as well as their capacity for kindness and innocent affection. SPOILERS AHEAD: There are some truly touching sequences showing the youngsters' loving, caring natures. When the little boy is devastated at the death of his pet kitten, and can't understand why Jesus didn't look after it, as the Salvation Army lady had told him, Hayley Mills as his older sister shows real concern for his grief, and tries to get the disinterested local vicar to explain it to them. When the middle sister picks up the dead kitten in the barn,and cradles it in her arms, gently saying to it " You've gone to Heaven, haven't you?", I completely broke down and wept, even though I've seen the movie dozens of times. Perhaps it's partly for the children we once were that adult viewers are moved to tears by this quietly powerful drama. The child actors are the heart and soul of this movie, with excellent support from Bernard Lee as the kindly, harried father, and Alan Bates as the hunted murderer the children believe to be Jesus. The cinematography, music, real towns and farms in the north of England used as locations, are all superb. The film has plenty of gentle humor, as well as the sad moments. It's a unique film, in my experience, and well worth seeing. I have yet to meet anyone who doesn't find it both charming and deeply affecting. Hayley Mills is absolutely radiant as Cathy, and her sister Diane Holgate and little brother Alan Barnes are equally fine. This is simply one of the best movies to come out of the English cinema in the early Sixties and a wonderful movie, period.

Andrew Wang Set in the bleak Pennine Mountains of Lancashire this is a moving story of a young girl who befriends a murderer on the run. The girl lives on a farm with her strict relatives and the murderer hides in a barn. She mistakes him for Jesus and the children of the village seek to protect him from both her relatives and the police. It is at times touching and funny at others. The Lancashire accents, especially those of the children, may be hard for non-British people to understand. Hayley Mills, as the girl, and Alan Bates, the wanted man, excel. The film received four BAFTA nominations - all thoroughly deserved. One was for the performance of Hayley Mills. She is the daughter of Mary Hayley Bell who wrote the novel on which the book is based.