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Wonderful Movie

Did you people see the same film I saw?

If the ambition is to provide two hours of instantly forgettable, popcorn-munching escapism, it succeeds.

Actress is magnificent and exudes a hypnotic screen presence in this affecting drama.

This is review #39 and the average vote is near "9". I'm neither an attention seeker nor depressed but PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES is not a great film. There are a lot of "ways" in which P-F may have entertained, been successful, etc., but to risk adopting a cliché or canned response, P-F doesn't click on any level. It fails to serve as a chronicle or historical note to the actual history of events (as several reviewers pointed out, the British fairy "craze" was an actual late 19th century phenomona) . Though I cannot over-fault P-F for not delving into events as did FAIRY TALE (It has the right to try and stand on its own) there's a scene where we pass several rooms wherein everyone's got a a crystal ball, is doing a seance, i.e., as if to say all of England is presently chasing fairies! Neither did I find P-F to be a particularly great love story, exploration of the Afterlife, or conflict of wills. We're to be convinced of the existence of fairies on very little support, as well as introduction of a "flower drug" as nothing more than a useful plot devise. Our hero's lost love angst is, arguably, to be taken for granted and, should you "buy" such, the role of his new sweetheart-in-waiting becomes a loose end. With all the hub-bub about "afterlife" and life-as-dream, the resolution we appear to be given is nothing of the sort but rather a "time travel" package; i.e., back to real life again instead of into another world. Abjectly wasted and totally without benefit to P-F is Ben Kingsley's lost-his-way preacher. Other than dying to serve the film's plot ending, I can easily envision cutting the preacher's entire role without affect to the rest of the story. The movie is beautifully filmed and the props are great, as is the acting (NOTE: supporting cast is particularly noteworthy). In the end though, PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES either is trying to do too much or, alternately, is not sure what it wants to do!

The schism between belief and science, religion and technology, the afterlife and end of life, childhood innocence and adult reality, are all themes which flow through this marvelous film. Photographing Fairies is a deceptive title for a film that is more than a simple tale of two little girls who claimed to photograph little flying sprites in rural Birkinwell, England. During the latter quarter of the 19th century and into the 20th century, beliefs about civilization as the privilege of modern western society was shaken by the reality of modern social ills culminating with the devastation wreaked by WWI.From this groundwork, two men loose their wives - Charles Castle, a grieving photographer who lost his wife on their honeymoon and earns his living by creating memorial photographs of dead soldiers for grieving families. The second and darker character is a country parson, Rev. Templeton whose very calling relies on humanity's ultimate desire to believe in something more, in life after death but which he has not maintained. Templeton's wife Beatrice approached Castle with the photograph offering evidence of fairies with their young daughters. Castle analyzes the image and arrives at the conclusion no trick photography was involved. He sets out to discover the "truth" of the image with mind-altering results. Although somewhat heavy-handed in some symbolic references to Christian beliefs, this is balanced by the notion of fairies as pre-Christian elemental beings of Nature. In addition, the use of an organic flower is key to the transition to "slow time" that enables whoever consumes it to see what is invisible to the naked eye of modern man, and ultimately, to technology. 19th century photography enabled audiences to possess visual evidence of the living and the dead as well as the spiritual as the trends for post-mortem and spirit photography was fashionable for the Victorians. As Castle's beliefs are replaced with new mystical experiences, Rev. Templeton is adamant to thwart any efforts that deny his beliefs and self-indulgent practices.This is a subtle storyline that belies the title and it is all for the better. Superior acting from Toby Stevenson and Ben Kingsley lift the story to a level that leaves the audience pondering several questions that become more intriguing on multiple viewings. Wonderful period costuming, locations, and soundtrack have been commented on by others and all in all, Photographing Fairies is worth the watch.

Beethoven's 7th symphony is just so perfect for this movie. One might say good music compliments good movie. It's my personal opinion but I believe good movie compliments good classical music. I have listened to Beethoven's 7th symphony many times. I haven't had the appreciation for the 7th symphony until I saw this movie. From now on whenever I listen to this music I will picture the last scene of this movie, so mesmerizing...Movies like this helps none classical music audience learn to appreciate classical music. I am just waiting to see if there is a movie that will help me understand rap. lol

If you have cable and the SciFi Channel, you may have had thepleasure of catching this little gem. I kept seeing it in parts andeven in the little snippets, it drew me in and had such a hauntingquality. It was on the other night and I just sat and watched it all theway through and despite the fact that I'd seen some scenesbefore, it still held such a wonderful presence. It's hard to reallydescribe the movie -- part love story, part fantasy, with a little bit ofthe Big Question over exactly what the afterlife is. Thecinematography is absolutely picturesque, almost like watching aMerchant Ivory production, but with a bit of fairy magic thrown in.Ben Kingsley is an interesting addition to the cast. I wish therewas more characterization done on all the main roles. You get asense of where everyone comes from in terms of motivation, butmore background would have made for a richer film. The pace issometimes inconsistent, moving quickly in the beginning, thenslowing, then speeding up again. But the film's dry English witmakes for enjoyable moments of irreverence. It's still just anoverall beautiful film. Very bittersweet and heartbreaking inmoments. The end is shot with such care and emotion. Asfantastic as the premise is, the heart of the movie is somethingeveryone can understand -- the loss of a loved one and the chanceto rekindle a spirit burdened with sorrow. A funny bit of irony -- theactor who played Watson in the BBC Sherlock Holmes series is inthis movie and he plays (har har har) Sir Arthur Conan Doyle.