Morris: A Life with Bells On (2009)

The film follows the fortunes of an avant garde Morris team in their struggle to evolve Morris Dancing.

Director:

Lucy Akhurst

Writer:

Tom Oldham

Stars:

Lucy Akhurst, Brodie Bass, Andy Black

Cast

Credited cast:
Lucy Akhurst	...	Skye
Brodie Bass	...	Ty Petrovic
Andy Black	...	Lydiard Spurling
John Boswall	...	Mr. Staveley
Jasper Britton	...	Will Frosser
Ben Bela Böhm	...	Eduardo
Thomas Coombes	...	Moss Side Morris Dancer
Adam Ewan	...	Boothby Pagnell
Gary Fannin	...	Michael da Silva
Naomie Harris	...	Sonja
Ian Hart	...	Endeavour
Derek Jacobi	...	Quentin Neely
Corinne Kempa	...	News Anchor
Zena Khan	...	American Lady
Andrew Kinsler	...	Brazilian Morris Dancer

Storyline

The film follows the fortunes of an avant garde Morris team in their struggle to evolve Morris Dancing.

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Plot Keywords:

morris dance

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Taglines:

Grab life by the bells!

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Genres:

Comedy

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Details

Official Sites:

Official site

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

23 May 2009 (USA)

Filming Locations:

London, England, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

Twist Films

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Orange County Morris, as seen in the film, is a fictional side. There aren't any morris sides in Orange county, though Los Angeles county has two: Rising Phoenix Morris (Cotswold) from Santa Monica, and Wildwood Morris (Border) from Long Beach.

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Goofs

The headquarters of the Orange County Morris Men is shown as being in Santa Monica, California. Santa Monica is in Los Angeles County, not Orange.

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Soundtracks

"Apple for Teacher"
Written by Richard Lumsden
Performed by John Dipper, Richard Lumsden, Saul Rose & Laurel Swift

User Reviews

Offbeat hilarious mockumentary

This film takes a very offbeat and affectionate view of a folk-dancing tradition in England that is under threat of disappearing. I very much hope that this amusing and endearingly eccentric movie will raise public awareness of Morris dancing in England. The tension between preserving an old, "sacred" tradition and desiring to experiment and innovate is delightfully caught in a clever script and plot. Charles Thomas Oldham turns in an excellent performance as Derecq Twist, the eccentric leader of a Dorset Morris dance side whose daring experiments outrage the leader of the Morris Circle - Quentin Neely - played by Sir Derek Jacobi. One of this dancing side is a Frenchman, Jean-Baptiste (played by Dominique Pinon) and even the French language scenes are beautifully scripted. When the film jumps to California (a California filmed entirely in England), we meet a tremendously funny plot twist. Henceforth Derecq does for Morris dancing what Michael Flatley did for Riverdance. When I saw the film, the cinema was packed with Morris Dancers who were universally delighted with the jokes, the poignancy of some moments in the film and the general joie de vivre that the film conveys. I cannot recommend this film highly enough. It deserves to become a cult classic. Thank you Lucy Akhurst for a wonderful night at the cinema.