''A Month in the Country'' is a 1987 British film directed by Pat O'Connor. The film is an adaptation of the 1980 novel of the same name by J. L. Carr, and stars Colin Firth,

Kenneth Branagh Sir Kenneth Charles Branagh (; born 10 December 1960) is a British actor and filmmaker. Branagh trained at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London and has served as its president since 2015. He has won an Academy Award, four BAFTAs (plus ...

(in his first credited role),

Natasha Richardson Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaug ...

and

Patrick Malahide Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a veteran British film, television and theatre actor, author and producer, known, amongst other things, for his roles as Inspector Alleyn in '' The Inspec ...

. The screenplay was by

Simon Gray Simon James Holliday Gray (21 October 1936 – 7 August 2008) was an English playwright and memoirist who also had a career as a university lecturer in English literature at Queen Mary, University of London, for 20 years. While teaching at Q ...

. Set in rural

Yorkshire Yorkshire ( ; abbreviated Yorks), formally known as the County of York, is a historic county in northern England and by far the largest in the United Kingdom. Because of its large area in comparison with other English counties, functions have ...

during the summer of 1920, the film follows a destitute

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

veteran employed to carry out restoration work on a Medieval mural discovered in a rural church while coming to terms with the after-effects of the war. The film was shot during the summer of 1986 and featured an original score by

Howard Blake Howard David Blake (born 28 October 1938) is an English composer, conductor, and pianist whose career has spanned more than 50 years and produced more than 650 works. Blake's most successful work is his soundtrack for Channel 4’s 1982 film ' ...

. The film has been neglected since its 1987 cinema release and it was only in 2004 that an original 35 mm film print was discovered, due to the intervention of a fan.Hilary Whitney
How I found Branagh's lost movie
" in ''

The Daily Telegraph ''The Daily Telegraph'', known online and elsewhere as ''The Telegraph'', is a national British daily broadsheet newspaper published in London by Telegraph Media Group and distributed across the United Kingdom and internationally. It was f ...

'', 21 February 2005

Plot

Set in 1920, the film follows the experiences of Tom Birkin ( Colin Firth), who has been employed under a

bequest A bequest is property given by will. Historically, the term ''bequest'' was used for personal property given by will and ''deviser'' for real property. Today, the two words are used interchangeably. The word ''bequeath'' is a verb form for the act ...

to carry out restoration work on a Medieval

mural A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' is a Spani ...

discovered in a church in the small rural community of Oxgodby,

. The escape to the idyllic countryside is cathartic for Birkin, haunted by his experiences in

. Birkin soon fits into the slow-paced life of the remote village, and over the course of a summer uncovering a painting begins to lose his trauma-induced stammer and tics. In particular, he forms a close friendship with archaeologist James Moon (

), another veteran, who like Birkin has been emotionally scarred by the war. Moon is employed in the village under the same bequest, working to uncover a mysterious lost grave, but is more interested in discovering the remains of an earlier Saxon church building in the field next to the churchyard. Birkin becomes accepted into the Nonconformist family of Mr Ellerbeck the station master ( Jim Carter), with whom he dines on Sundays; the hospitality of the chapel congregation is contrasted against the established church, which has consigned the penniless Birkin to sleep in the church belfry. Ellerbeck's children eventually persuade Birkin to preach a sermon at a nearby

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

chapel. Birkin also forms an emotional, albeit unspoken, attachment to Alice Keach (

), the young wife of the vicar. The vicar (

) is portrayed unsympathetically as an obstruction to the work in the church, viewing the medieval painting as symptomatic of the superstition prevalent in the community.

Cast

''A Month in the Country'' featured film debuts or early roles of several notable British actors. Although it was the third cinema feature film to cast Colin Firth, it was his first lead role. Similarly, it was Kenneth Branagh's first cinema film, and Natasha Richardson's second. Conversely, it was the last role of David Garth who died in May 1988.Cast information
at amitc.org. Retrieved 31 July 2008 * Colin Firth as Tom Birkin *

as James Moon *

as Alice Keach *

as the Reverend J.G. Keach * Jim Carter as Ellerbeck * Vicki Arundale as Kathy Ellerbeck * Martin O'Neil as Edgar Ellerbeck * Eileen O'Brien as Mrs Ellerbeck *

Richard Vernon Richard Evelyn Vernon (7 March 1925 – 4 December 1997) was a British actor. He appeared in many feature films and television programmes, often in aristocratic or supercilious roles. Prematurely balding and greying, Vernon settled into playi ...

as Colonel Hebron * Tim Barker as Mossop * David Garth as Old Birkin * John Atkinson as Old Man *

Barbara Marten Barbara Marten (born 3 January 1947) is a British actress. She is most known for playing Eve Montgomery in ''Casualty''. She has appeared in various soaps, including Eastenders and Brookside, as well as many other drama serials such as ''Harry' ...

as Mrs Sykes * Elizabeth Anson as Lucy Sykes *

Tony Haygarth George Anthony Haygarth (4 February 1945 – 10 March 2017) was an English television, film and theatre actor. Life and career After leaving Marlborough College, Liverpool, Haygarth worked unsuccessfully in 1963 as a lifeguard in Torquay, and a ...

as Douthwaite * David Gillies as Milburn

Production

Development

Initially intended to be a

made-for-TV film A television film, alternatively known as a television movie, made-for-TV film/movie or TV film/movie, is a feature-length film that is produced and originally distributed by or to a television network, in contrast to theatrical films made for ...

, the film's producer

Kenith Trodd Kenith Trodd (born 1936, in Southampton) is a British television producer best known for his professional association with television playwright Dennis Potter. Early life The son of a crane driver, Trodd was raised in the Christian fundamentalist ...

upgraded his original plan to a cinema feature.Filming information
at amitc.org. Retrieved 22 July 2008 The original working title for the film was "Falling Man". Playwright

was commissioned to write the screenplay, and Pat O'Connor chosen to direct. In contrast to the book, which is narrated as a recollection by Birkin as an old man, the film is set entirely in the 1920s, except for a brief moment towards the end. In initial drafts of the screenplay, Gray had included a narrator, but O'Connor felt this was not the correct way to present the story:

I felt that if I couldn't do it in the present, suggesting internal pain by performance, then I wouldn't really want to do it at all.Screenplay
at amitc.org. Retrieved 8 August 2008

Funding for the film was scarce, and it eventually fell to

Euston Films Euston Films is a British film and television production company. It was originally a subsidiary company of Thames Television, and operated from 1971 to 1994, producing various series for Thames, which were screened nationally on the ITV network ...

(a subsidiary of

Thames Television Thames Television, commonly simplified to just Thames, was a franchise holder for a region of the British ITV television network serving London and surrounding areas from 30 July 1968 until the night of 31 December 1992. Thames Television broa ...

) and

Channel Four Films Film4 Productions is a British film production company owned by Channel Four Television Corporation. The company has been responsible for backing many films made in the United Kingdom. The company's first production was '' Walter'', directed by ...

, who had had some success with low budget features such as ''

My Beautiful Laundrette ''My Beautiful Laundrette'' is a 1985 British romantic comedy-drama film directed by Stephen Frears from a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi. The film was also one of the first films released by Working Title Films. The story is set in London dur ...

''.

Filming

To compensate for the lack of budget, a very tight shooting schedule was planned over 28 days, during which Kenneth Branagh was only available for two weeks and was on the stage nightly in London. Despite being set in Yorkshire, the majority of

location filming In geography, location or place are used to denote a region (point, line, or area) on Earth's surface or elsewhere. The term ''location'' generally implies a higher degree of certainty than ''place'', the latter often indicating an entity with an ...

was moved to Buckinghamshire, although Levisham railway station and the surrounding area in

North Yorkshire North Yorkshire is the largest ceremonial counties of England, ceremonial county (lieutenancy area) in England, covering an area of . Around 40% of the county is covered by National parks of the United Kingdom, national parks, including most of ...

were used. The location shooting of the film began on 18 August 1986, at St. Mary's church in

Radnage Radnage is a village and civil parish in the Buckinghamshire district of Buckinghamshire, England. It is in the Chiltern Hills about two miles north east of Stokenchurch and six miles WNW of High Wycombe. The parish is set in folds of the Chilter ...

. Filming was periodically hindered by inclement weather – the perfect summer in which the book was set was not forthcoming, and scenes were filmed during breaks in heavy rain. Interiors were shot at

Bray Studios Bray Productions was a pioneering American animation studio that produced several popular cartoons during the years of World War I and the early interwar era, becoming a springboard for several key animators of the 20th century, including the ...

in Berkshire. The church, which is a main location for the film, was substantially set-dressed. Despite having several original medieval wall paintings, the largest addition was the creation of the medieval mural by artist Margot Noyes. To create the impression of an austere country church, Victorian stone flags were replaced with brick pavers for the duration of filming and the original wall paintings covered up. Plastic guttering and other modern additions were covered up or removed.Location filming
at amitc.org. Retrieved 6 August 2008 The churchyard had several gravestones added, including the large box tomb which is a focus of several scenes. Several members of the local community were used as extras in the film, and local children were recruited by the director to collect butterflies to be released out-of-shot to create a "summer feeling". There was some opposition to the disruption caused by the filming, and also problems involving unwelcome damage to a section of the interior

plasterwork Plasterwork is construction or ornamentation done with plaster, such as a layer of plaster on an interior or exterior wall structure, or plaster decorative moldings on ceilings or walls. This is also sometimes called pargeting. The process of ...

, which had to be restored after filming had concluded.

Music

The soundtrack of the film was written by

, and is scored entirely for string orchestra in the style of early 20th Century British music. Blake notes that the style chosen was intended to complement and contrast recordings of classical music during particular scenes:

Verdi Giuseppe Fortunino Francesco Verdi (; 9 or 10 October 1813 – 27 January 1901) was an Italian composer best known for his operas. He was born near Busseto to a provincial family of moderate means, receiving a musical education with the h ...

's ''

Quattro pezzi sacri The ''Quattro pezzi sacri'' (, ''Four Sacred Pieces'') are choral works by Giuseppe Verdi. Written separately during the last decades of the composer's life and with different origins and purposes, they were nevertheless published together in 18 ...

'' was used during the uncovering of the mediaeval mural and a flashback montage of the First World War which opened the film used an excerpt from

Schubert Franz Peter Schubert (; 31 January 179719 November 1828) was an Austrian composer of the late Classical and early Romantic eras. Despite his short lifetime, Schubert left behind a vast ''oeuvre'', including more than 600 secular vocal wor ...

's ''

Deutsche Messe ''Deutsche Messe'' ("German Mass"; full title: , "German Mass and Order of Worship") was published by Martin Luther in 1526. It followed his work '' Formula missae'' from the year 1523, pertaining to the celebration of a Latin mass. Both of these ...

'' (D. 872) "Zum Sanctus: Heilig, heilig ist der Herr". Howard Blake recalls: "I went to a viewing and saw that the film was very profound, with a serious anti-war theme, but a certain amount of 'found' choral music had already been laid in by the editors...I explained that I loved the film and I thought the choral/orchestral music worked brilliantly but it was very big and rich and I felt a score would have to emerge from it and be very pure and expressive and quite small — and that I could only hear this in my head as done by strings only."Score
at amitc.org. Retrieved 31 July 2008 Blake decided to compose his score to match the key of the Schubert ''Mass'', in order for the music to continue seamlessly. However, during the recording session with his orchestra, the

Sinfonia of London Sinfonia of London is a session orchestra based in London, England, and conducted by John Wilson. The current orchestra is the third of three distinct ensembles of this name. The original Sinfonia of London was founded in 1955 by Gordon Walker ...

, he found that the Schubert piece was running slow and therefore flat, and he had to ask the players to tune flat to match his intended key.Howard Blake Official Website
. Retrieved 22 July 2008 Due to the small budget of the film, Blake agreed "in lieu of a reasonable fee" to retain the copyright to his music. The score was subsequently arranged into a suite for string orchestra, and is available on CD in a recording by the English Northern Philharmonia conducted by Paul Daniel.

Reception

Upon its release in 1987, the film was generally well received by critics.

Rita Kempley Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

, writing in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'' suggested "It's all rather Arthurian, with its chivalric hero on his spiritual quest, the atmosphere suffused, seeming to dance with once and future truths." Janet Maslin, writing in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...

'' praised O'Connor's direction, suggesting it lent the film "a strong sense of yearning, as well as a spiritual quality more apparent in the look of the film than in its dialogue." Desmond Ryan of ''

The Philadelphia Inquirer ''The Philadelphia Inquirer'' is a daily newspaper headquartered in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The newspaper's circulation is the largest in both the U.S. state of Pennsylvania and the Delaware Valley metropolitan region of Southeastern Pennsy ...

'' wrote "Rarely has the impossibility of love been more wrenchingly presented than in the scenes of dashed hope between Firth and Richardson.Critical reviews
at amitc.org. Retrieved 22 July 2008 Nigel Andrews of the ''

Financial Times The ''Financial Times'' (''FT'') is a British daily newspaper printed in broadsheet and published digitally that focuses on business and economic current affairs. Based in London, England, the paper is owned by a Japanese holding company, Ni ...

'' found it "like a pastoral parable that has been left outside in the damp too long, causing its batteries to go flat" and following a 2008 screening, Sam Jordison of ''

The Guardian ''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'', and changed its name in 1959. Along with its sister papers ''The Observer'' and ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardian'' is part of the Gu ...

'' suggested "even though this film is (unusually) faithful to the book...it is really little better than inoffensive. Somehow the magic that makes JL Carr's book so precious is missing." The film was the recipient of two awards: Pat O'Connor won the Silver Rosa Camuna at the Bergamo Film Meeting in 1987 and Howard Blake was awarded the

Anthony Asquith Anthony William Landon Asquith (; 9 November 1902 – 20 February 1968) was an English film director. He collaborated successfully with playwright Terence Rattigan on ''The Winslow Boy'' (1948) and '' The Browning Version'' (1951), among oth ...

Award for Musical Excellence by the

British Film Institute The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

in 1988. In addition, Colin Firth was nominated for an ''

Evening Standard The ''Evening Standard'', formerly ''The Standard'' (1827–1904), also known as the ''London Evening Standard'', is a local free daily newspaper in London, England, published Monday to Friday in tabloid format. In October 2009, after be ...

'' Award. The film was screened in the

Un Certain Regard (, meaning 'a certain glance') is a section of the Cannes Film Festival's official selection. It is run at the Debussy, parallel to the competition for the . This section was introduced in 1978 by Gilles Jacob. The section presents 20 films w ...

section at the

1987 Cannes Film Festival The 40th Cannes Film Festival was held from 7 to 19 May 1987. The Palme d'Or went to the '' Sous le soleil de Satan'' by Maurice Pialat, a choice which was considered "highly controversial" and the prize was given under the jeers of the public. ...

Home media release

Following its cinema release, the film was transferred to VHS in 1991 in a

pan and scan Pan and scan is a method of adjusting widescreen film images so that they can be shown in fullscreen proportions of a standard-definition 4:3 aspect ratio television screen, often cropping off the sides of the original widescreen image to focus ...

edition. When Glyn Watkins, a poet who had been encouraged by J.L. Carr early in his career, wanted to screen the film at the launch of a poetry book in 2003 at the

National Media Museum The National Science and Media Museum (formerly The National Museum of Photography, Film & Television, 1983–2006 and then the National Media Museum, 2006–2017), located in Bradford, West Yorkshire, is part of the national Science Museum G ...

in Bradford, the museum found that all original 35 mm film prints had disappeared. Undeterred, Watkins contacted the agents of the cast and director, and eventually the online fan clubs "Friends of Firth" and "Ken Friends". He discovered that the film had appeared as part of the

National Film Theatre BFI Southbank (from 1951 to 2007, known as the National Film Theatre) is the leading repertory cinema in the UK, specialising in seasons of classic, independent and non-English language films. It is operated by the British Film Institute. His ...

's Branagh season in May 1999, and that the film's American distributors,

Warner Bros. Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc. (commonly known as Warner Bros. or abbreviated as WB) is an American film and entertainment studio headquartered at the Warner Bros. Studios complex in Burbank, California, and a subsidiary of Warner Bros. D ...

, had a print in a

bonded warehouse A bonded warehouse, or bond, is a building or other secured area in which dutiable goods may be stored, manipulated, or undergo manufacturing operations without payment of duty. It may be managed by the state or by private enterprise. In the ...

. It was unclear who possessed the

rights Rights are legal, social, or ethical principles of freedom or entitlement; that is, rights are the fundamental normative rules about what is allowed of people or owed to people according to some legal system, social convention, or ethical theory ...

to the film. Only after several months it was found that Channel 4 still owned the rights, and the film was eventually released on a limited-edition Region 2 DVD in late 2004. In 2008, a higher quality print was located in the

Academy Film Archive The Academy Film Archive is part of the Academy Foundation, established in 1944 with the purpose of organizing and overseeing the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ educational and cultural activities, including the preservation of m ...

in Los Angeles and a campaign began to have it restored and released on DVD. A limited edition Region A Blu-ray release of the full 96-minute version of the film was released on the Twilight Time label in the US on 14 July 2015. In June 2016, the

BFI The British Film Institute (BFI) is a film and television charitable organisation which promotes and preserves film-making and television in the United Kingdom. The BFI uses funds provided by the National Lottery (United Kingdom), National Lot ...

released the film on a (Dual Format Edition) Blu-ray and DVD in the UK.

References

External links

* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Month In The Country, A 1987 films British drama films Films based on British novels Films set in 1920 Films set in Yorkshire Films directed by Pat O'Connor Films scored by Howard Blake Films about veterans 1980s English-language films 1980s British films