Wish You Were Here

1987 "Some people march to the beat of a different drummer. Lynda’s got her own brass band."
6.8| 1h32m| R| en
Details

In a staid English seaside town after the Second World War, young Lynda grows up with her widowed father and younger sister. Rebellious Lynda has been swearing constantly from an early age. At sixteen, she becomes more exhibitionist and seeks out sexual encounters challenging the prevailing lower-middle class attitudes to sex. She eventually becomes pregnant by an acquaintance of her father.

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Reviews

Glucedee It's hard to see any effort in the film. There's no comedy to speak of, no real drama and, worst of all.
Megamind To all those who have watched it: I hope you enjoyed it as much as I do.
Taraparain Tells a fascinating and unsettling true story, and does so well, without pretending to have all the answers.
Tobias Burrows It's easily one of the freshest, sharpest and most enjoyable films of this year.
Jolie B. I watched half last night and couldn't wait to finish it today. Emily Lloyd was absolutely phenomenal and I want to get more movies with her in it. All of the actors were excellent, from her aunt, to the Dad, to his friend.Lynda was quite a character in this movie and you can understand why some kids act out like they do. I can relate to Lynda and make sense of some of the things I did as a kid after watching this. It was often hilarious and sometimes painful to watch. The acting is so incredible, you really could feel the emotion. And you feel for the father who can't control her, no matter what he tries to do.British films are always so different from the norm. I love their artistic approach where everything is not spelled out for you and you have to make some inferences on your own. As such, every person's perspective is a little bit different. And the situations are always such real, every day type of situations from which they can spin a great story. I highly recommend this film.It is not for children as there are many adult situations. Although I'm usually pretty loose with an R rating, I won't allow my tween children to watch this. Frankly, I don't think that kids would necessarily enjoy it anyway - as it's more of an adult drama with some funny and awkward moments.
zax-3 a beautiful film, very human, very funny...... faultless performances all round. Emily Lloyd is wonderful, this is a performance of real depth and adeptness. Wonderfully emotive and poignant whilst being funny. Where are you Emily?
rchase-2 Wish You Were Here is a delightful, moving and exceptional film for many reasons, but the most unusual is that it is one of two films written by David Leland (Mona Lisa) about a real person, the famous British madame, Cynthia Payne, which were both released in the same year--1987. (Both films claim to be fiction) Wish chronicles her youthful scandals; the other film,Terry Jones', Personal Services (1987) chronicles her adult scandals. The two films are very different in style (this film being the more conventional of the two) but the character of Payne remains refreshingly the same. In Wish You Were Here the desperate pleading of a lonely young girl for love and affection takes a bizarre path helped by her rebellious and outspoken candid observations. It is her impatience with hypocrisy coupled with her desperate need that make this teenager so sympathetic. That, and her great sense of humor.The colorful sex scenes filled with surprises keep the viewer disarmed, but mainly it is the main character's shining virtues of honesty, non-conformity, and defiance that makes this film a special one for young people. The scene with the therapist, matching dirty words, is one of the funniest on film, especially watching the marvelous way Emily Lloyd molds her reactions and then goes in for the kill. Emily Lloyd's career never lived up to this early brilliant performance, but her work here is so dazzling, it gives her a place in film history. Highly recommended for all teenagers who feel out of place and for adults who do, too.Why hasn't this film moved to DVD? (only in England and Germany!) It's a rare find, and you may be both surprised and delighted!.
pillix If you enjoy life, this film is a must see... absolutely worth watching.I saw this film about ten years ago as part of a one-day-show at a film festival. Since that time forward i have tried to see it again, but that has been impossible for any "commercial" movie theatre showed it in my country.Both, the plot and the acting of Emily Lloyd left a delicious taste in my senses during and after the film was over. Later i found it was her first official/professional appearance on film. She was perfectly casted. One has no other choice but to love this film, and being a woman... it is a MUST SEE.What happened to writer/director David Leland? It is a shame we don't see fresh films like this one more often. Recently, "Life is beautiful" (Italy) swept with many awards... well, "Wish You Were Here" is something like "life is not beautiful but one better live it to the edge, being the one and only life we have".P.S. Still... i am waiting for the video version in order to watch this film over and over.