A MONTH IN THE COUNTRY Movie Review

This is a gentle, eloquently told story of two British World War I veterans, one an archaeologist (Kenneth Branagh) and the other an expert in the conservation and restoration of paintings (Colin Firth), who come together when working in a small Yorkshire town. Firth's character suffered great emotional damage during the war, and as he removes layers of grime from a medieval church painting, gradually revealing the glorious work of art underneath, the simple but not overstated metaphor for the healing of his own damaged psyche comes into focus. Branagh, Firth, and Miranda Richardson are superb in this rarely seen, small jewel of a film. J.R. Carr's novel was adapted by playwright Simon Gray (Butley) and was directed by Pat O'Connor.

NEXT STOP … Life and Nothing But, Mrs. Dalloway, La Belle Noiseuse

1987 92m/C GB Colin Firth, Natasha Richardson, Kenneth Branagh, Patrick Malahide, Tony Haygarth, Jim Carter; D: Pat O'Connor; W: Simon Gray; C: Kenneth Macmillan; M: Howard Blake. VHS, LV ORI, WAR