This is one of my favourite films. Stephen Poliakoff, who wrote and directed it, is my favourite director.

On the surface, it may sound as though there isn't much of a plot to this. But the beauty lies in the way the story is told. It's captivating.

The story is of photographic library that has been bought by a big American company so that they may remodel the building for another use. The photos—all ten million of them!—are to be destroyed. When Mr Anderson, the American representative arrives, he is shocked to find the library, with its five employees, still inhabiting the building. They are even more surprised to see him, as they knew nothing of the sale of the building. He gives them a couple of days to save whatever photographs they want to keep, to try to sell a few to buyers, but other than that, the rest will be destroyed.

Marylin, the library's manager, implores him for more time, saying it would be a tragedy for the collection to be split up. He doesn't care, but eventually, she persuades him to let her tell him the stories of a few photos, to show him how important the display is. The result will move even the most steadfast amongst us.

The whole film centres around the photographs, and it shows us the importance of having roots and connections. It's just the most beautiful story. I can't praise it enough.

People who appreciate good story telling. People who appreciate the tiny details that make for stunning cinematography.

Everything about it. Oswald is a great character. The story of Lily. How clever the plot is. How it's all understated, which actually makes it even more powerful.

Watch more Poliakoff, so I turned to "Perfect Strangers." Another great one. I also wanted to find my book of random twentieth century photographs and flick through, imagining the stories in there.

Warm and fuzzy. Happy.

Lindsey Duncan and Timothy Spall are excellent in this. Spall's portrayal of the unhinged Oswald works so well. All the cast are perfectly chosen for this.

It's a truly lovely story. It's filmed beautifully. You will find yourself really caring about this bunch of oddball characters.

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Created Oct 09, 2017 at 12:03pm • Submit your own review...