The Village

2013
7.7| 0h30m| en
Synopsis

The Village tells the story of life in a Derbyshire village through the eyes of a central character, Bert Middleton.

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Reviews

Afouotos Although it has its amusing moments, in eneral the plot does not convince.
Curapedi I cannot think of one single thing that I would change about this film. The acting is incomparable, the directing deft, and the writing poignantly brilliant.
InformationRap This is one of the few movies I've ever seen where the whole audience broke into spontaneous, loud applause a third of the way in.
Hayden Kane There is, somehow, an interesting story here, as well as some good acting. There are also some good scenes
kennprop Excellent photography and detailed realistic sets, dress, and etc. The bleak reality of farm life in a small isolated Yorkshire farm. When I think of England it is the England of the countryside , small villages and farms.This York. program is set earlier than Herriots era. It shows the brutal reality of life before social program s to aid in support. One could say this life was kind of glossed over in Herriots series and Downton Abbey dom. My wifes reaction was the series was depressing. I think it is a realistic one. A quality British TV program. I has it all. Ingrained idiot upper class, local folk in awe of these fools while carrying water and doing their scut work. Activist suffragette , innocent patriotic war fervor, WW1 and enlisting as a positive move up. Very limited prospects in the country - I think a mass movement to the cities had been happening during this period. Prospects n the UK had gotten worse as competition with other nations- Germany and the US intensified. Quality TV.
pavelb-968-44685 Beautifully acted bleak reality of a poor village as The British Empire starts to wind down. The photography is wonderful with some of the scenes appearing to be black and white, which they are not. Typical of BBC, it's not always possible to hear what is being said but it will become clear when you view a second time. Mother Middleton is spectacular – they did make her red-haired! I really enjoyed her in "Silk", but this role is a triumph. The opening episode with our young Bert being punished for being left handed hits home for me – my own father forced me (not brutally thank heavens) to write with my right – it was a different time. Bert's way of making money by entertaining his village-mates is amazing and you instantly get the impression he is true leadership potential. His willingness to take what the teacher dishes out quickly makes him special - is he deliberately taunting his sadistic school master? The development of the characters is masterful, Moffat never tells all, but just enough that you eventually form your impression. The truth about The Lord of the Manor, the Vicar, Vicar's daughter, the Investigator, all become apparent in this first series, but nothing is crystal clear. I was struck by how close this mirrors so many societies where it's all too easy to make quick assumptions. The treatment of the immediate post-war de-mob situation might have been too gentle as perhaps was the treatment of the Spanish Flu epidemic. These were horrible times as returning soldiers discovered they were not needed anymore. Series 1 is probably the best I've seen from BBC, ever, but is not for the viewer who wants razz, colourful costumes and sparkling wit. There's a lot of "British understatement" here which makes it very real. I eagerly await the second series.
gwat-2 I have only seen series I of the Village, but basically it is a second rate Downton Abbey. On the plus side it has some very good acting, there are some great background views of the Derby countryside, and the script is OK.However, on the down-side, it has almost no character development (not helped by the fact that each episode is separated in time from the next), historical accuracy is near zero, and the story lines are farcical. For instance, in one episode, when the Middletons' cereal crop is destroyed by mildew, young Bert comes to the rescue using the contents of his piggy bank! He has accumulated enough cash (by charging his barefoot school mates to see him drain the blood of an old woman who has just died!!) to buy a cow and change the farm from arable to dairy overnight! The overall aim of the series is not clear. Some comments I have seen indicate that it is intended as a sort of "lower class Downton", while some of the advertising suggests that it is intended to be the chronicle of "The Village". However it achieves neither, and its focus is obscure. Although the Middleton family is lower class, they are generally passive actors in the "drama" and upper and middle characters predominate in the cast list, and in the more interesting plot lines.As to the "Village" being the central character - the series gives no real sense of place. How far out is the Middletons' farm? How close is the nearest town? just over the hill or a long way away? What is the social life of the village like? Well there is the Ladies bathing parlour - which I don't believe for a minute. Also it is implied that it is mostly Methodist - except it isn't. I think that the series was written as if it were a "standard" CE village and at some point they just decided to to swap minister/vicar, chapel/church, Methodist/CE etc without changing anything else! For instance, the press pack for the series says "The Lamb pub... is at the centre of village life". Methodists staunchly supported temperance, no member of the chapel would set foot in a public house! Again, the Methodist assembly supported the war while the minister of the "Village" gives a rousing anti-war sermon, but there was no hint of division in the congregation. Like so much of this series, this is a motiveless set piece that leaves the viewer perplexed.Finally the Minister has serious doubts about his faith, but treats it as a personal matter. In fact Methodist ministers were chosen by leaders of the local chapel-goers, he would surely have discussed it with them, for they would be the ones who would choose his successor - by interviewing candidates for the job. Methodism had a complex structure, with much power at the local level - lots of scope for socially interesting sub-plots, but the writers only deal with uninformed stereotypes. If this series had been a serious attempt at a lower-class view of English life in the 20th century I would have welcomed it, but it is totally light-weight and generally insults the viewer's intelligence.
rickytravis68 Well what can I say about this apart from the fact it has quite nice scenery but hey you could watch Countryfile for that. I fought through the 1st episode and then nearly fell asleep during the 2nd. Boring, depressing, scenes which seem to last a lifetime with no apparent reason. Thank God for ITV and the excellent Endeavour. Once upon a time the BBC outclassed every other channel for it's drama but aside from Paradise which was far superior to ITV's Mr Selfridge they are now lacking in originality. If you like dreary grey drama then this is for you, everyone else I suggest you turn over. I hope the BBC can recover from this mess.