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Movies
About Scotland, Or Filmed In Scotland
Braveheart
Directed by and starring Mel Gibson. This is an entertaining
3 hour epic, containing a perfect blend of action, adventure,
romance, tragedy, revenge, torture and suspense. Excellent battle
scenes! What more could you ask for? An interval, perhaps? It
tells the tale of William Wallace, a Scottish hero of old, who
helped rally his people to fight against those nasty English!
Breaking
The Waves
Drama
set in a repressed, deeply religious community in the north
of Scotland, where a naive young woman named Bess McNeil (Emily
Watson) meets and falls in love with Danish oil-rig worker Jan
(Stellan Skarsgaard). Bess and Jan are deeply in love but, when
Jan returns to his rig, Bess prays to God that he returns for
good. Jan does return, his neck broken in an accident aboard
the rig. Because of his condition, Jan and Bess are now unable
to enjoy a sexual relationship and Jan urges Bess to take another
lover and tell him the details. As Bess becomes more and more
deviant in her sexual behaviour, the more she comes to believe
that her actions are guided by God and are helping Jan recover.
The
Bridal Path
Based
on a novel by Nigel Tranter, The Bridal Path is a light-hearted
look at the somewhat unfortunate results that can come of the
continued marrying of fairly close cousins in a restricted and
remote community. Set in the Hebrides off Scotland, the story
tells how Ewan MacEwan leaves the isle of Eorsa in search of
the perfect wife, but finally returns to marry Katie.
Chariots
of Fire
The
true story of two British track athletes competing in the 1924
Summer Olympics. One is a devout Scottish missionary who runs
for God, the other is a Jewish student at Cambridge who runs
for fame and to escape prejudice.
Eye
of The Needle
WWII
German superspy, the Needle, who gravitates towards murder using
his trusty switchblade, discovers vital evidence about the Allies
D-Day invasion. He makes for the Scotish coast to escape on
a U-Boat when his small boat is shipwrecked before being picked
up and the Needle is washed ashore. He is saved by a man destined
to never enter the war and his wife and child. The Needle quickly
falls in love with the woman and both must decide between their
love or country.
From
The Island
The
story, which is set in a small village on a remote Scottish
Island, centres around the gifted Callum who is in his final
year at school and preparing to go to University in Aberdeen
on the mainland. He receives private tuition from Charles McAllister
a former Headmaster at the village school who has become bitter
since the death of his wife. McAllister coaches Callum in French
and Poetry. When he is not coaching Callum he is compiling a
photo biography of the characters in the village. The wedding
of the young village nurse is to form the centre piece of his
biography. The story traces the life of characters in the village
as recorded by McAllister, but seen through the eyes of Callum.
It is the story of the life, loves and motivators in the life
of young man in the process of breaking free from the place
where he grew up.
Heavenly
Pursuits
Vic
Mathews teaches a remedial class at the Blessed Edith Semple
School in Scotland. Some at the school are trying to discover
the two more miracles that would promote the late Edith Semple
to sainthood; Mathews, a non-believer, wishes the school would
concentrate on teaching the children. He becomes confused, however,
when he is involved in possibly miraculous events himself!
I
Know Where I'm Going
Joan
Webster is a very modern woman (in the 1940's), "She
knows where she's going", she has her life carefully
planned out from a very young age. She gets engaged to a rich
industrialist who has taken a lease on an island in the Hebrides,
so she travels up to Scotland to marry him. However, in the
Western Isles, life beats to a different drum. A storm prevents
her immediate journey to the island so she stays for a while
with some of the locals including a young Naval officer, Torquil
MacNeil, who turns out to be the local clan head and the true
owner of the island. The magic of the local land, it's history
and the eccentric people she meets begin to have an effect on
Joan and she wonders ... does she really "Know where she's
going".
Kidnapped
When
young David Balfour arrives at his uncle's bleak Scottish
house to claim his inheritance his relative first tries to murder
him then has him shipped off to be sold as a slave in the colonies.
Fortunately for the lad he strikes up a friendship with Alan
Breck escaping from Bonnie Prince Charlie's defeat at Culludon.
When the ship's captain tries to kill Breck for his money
the two manage to get to land and set out for Edinburgh dodging
the ruthless Redcoats.
Rob
Roy
Less
critically acclaimed, this stars Liam Neeson as Rob Roy and
Jessica Laing as his sweetheart. The scenery is great, the characters
a bit thin. Look out for Tim Roth as a deliciously evil, scheming
English man!
Trainspotting
This
is the film of the play of the book, originally set in Edinburgh,
but brought to Glasgow for the screen version. It's the
story of a group of pals who all take different drugs, to amuse
themselves. It has both realism and fantasy, as well as a great
soundtrack, but be careful - this is culturally specific material
and you may not like what you see.
Gregory's
Girl
Directed
by Bill Forsythe, this film has been around for a while, but
it's a classic - funny, heart-warming tale of growing up
and falling in love in the 1980s.
Local
Hero
Another
funny and visually beautiful film, released in the 1980s. An
American oil company wants to buy some land in the north of
Scotland. This tells the story of what happens when their representative
arrives in the local village. This is my favourite **
Ring
of Bright Water
Whoever
said dog is man's best friend never met Mij! Mij is a cute,
cuddly pet shop otter who captures the heart of Graham Merill
(Bill Travers). It doesn't take Graham long to realize that
London is no place to raise a slippery otter. So he takes Mij
to live in a ramshackle cottage on the coast of Scotland. Together
they set out to explore the curious and magnificent natural
wonders that surround their seaside home--from orphaned geese
to tooth-less sharks. While Mij spends his days frolicking in
the icy cold sea, Graham finds himself falling in love with
the beautiful town doctor, Mary (Virginia McKenna). Before long,
the three become inseparable friends.
Shallow
Grave
To
avoid spoiling the movie this plot summary is very brief. It
starts when three people living together in a four bedroom flat
are looking for a house mate. The interviews they conduct are
very unorthodox and very funny. Eventually the three agree on
one prospective tenant. He moves in, locks his door, and is
not seen again. After a couple of days the three become curious
and break in to his room. What follows is an amazing piece of
cinema and to say more would ruin it.
The
Wicker Man
Police
Sgt. Howie, of the Scottish mainland, receives an anonymous
letter from the offshore community of Summerisle, asking him
to investigate the disappearance of a young girl there. He travels
to the remote isle and discovers a secretive, tightly knit neo-pagan
society. Being a devout (and rather self-righteous) Christian,
he is shocked by the islanders' open sexuality and ritualistic
devotion to the "old gods." As the mystery of the
missing girl unravels, he begins to suspect that she is a victim
of human sacrifice. In the film's chilling final sequence,
the truth is revealed when Sgt. Howie meets the "wicker
man."
The
Winter Guest
The
film, shot in the East Neuk of Fife, centers on four pairs
- Frances is a recent widow who wants to get away from Scotland
to Australia with her teenage son Alex to escape her memories,
arrival of her old mother Elspeth makes her reconsider her decision.
Alex approaches his first sexual experience with neighbour girl
Nita. Chloe and Lily are two old women who like to attend strangers'
funerals and Tom with Sam are two schoolboys who skip school
to play on the beach and talk.
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