My Ain Folk (1973)

Jamie and Tommy are separated by the death of their grandmother; Jamie with another relative and Tommy to a welfare home. Now Jamie is all alone and his life is not at all happy taken over by silence, rejection and violence.

Director:

Bill Douglas

Writer:

Bill Douglas

Stars:

Stephen Archibald, Hughie Restorick, Jean Taylor Smith

1 win & 1 nomination.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Stephen Archibald	...	Jamie
Hughie Restorick	...	Tommy
Jean Taylor Smith	...	Grandmother
Bernard McKenna	...	Tommy's Father
Mr. Munro	...	Jamie's Grandad
Paul Kermack	...	Jamie's Father
Helena Gloag	...	Father's Mother
Jessie Combe	...	Father's Wife
William Carroll	...	Father's Son
Anne McLeod	...	Father's Girlfriend
Robert Hendry	...	Soldier
Miss Cameron	...	Schoolteacher
John Downie	...	Undertaker

Storyline

Jamie and Tommy are separated by the death of their grandmother; Jamie with another relative and Tommy to a welfare home. Now Jamie is all alone and his life is not at all happy taken over by silence, rejection and violence.

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Plot Keywords:

education | suicide by gas | attempted suicide | grandfather grandson relationship | crossing fingers | 

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Genres:

Biography | Drama

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Certificate:

Not Rated

Did You Know?

Connections

Referenced in Century of Cinema: A Personal History of British Cinema by Stephen Frears (1995)

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Soundtracks

Incidental Music
(uncredited)
from Lassie Come Home (1943)
Music by Daniele Amfitheatrof

User Reviews

Quietly shivering landscapes

All right, not much votes for that sublime oddity of a film. I saw it by chance, together with the other "episodes" of Bill Douglas' autobiopic - if I may use that word.

It is quite unique. No other piece of cinema ever reached that utter sadness, ever showed those quietly shivering landscapes - except may be Dreyer's Vampyr, and possibly Straub / Huillet at their least boring. Dreyer ? Straub ? Huillet ? Yes, but you sometimes have those spectral moments, those white explosions in more mainstream, more meaty movies such as Them (just think of the beginning in the desert) or Kiss me deadly. Or, say, The Misfits, the garrulousness of which is (for me) redeemed by Monroe's silent dance around a tree in the sparkling white night.

When I hear Mr van Sant babbling about the cinema of reality and other fake highbrow concepts, I think of Bill Douglas who, 30 years before Mr van Sant, triggered the question with far more talent.

Couldn't Criterion do the world a favor and have these three films issued on DVD ?

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

31 July 2013 (France)

Also Known As:

Ceux de chez moi

Filming Locations:

Newcraighall, Edinburgh, Scotland, UK

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Film Institute (BFI)

Technical Specs

Runtime:

55 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Black and White

Aspect Ratio:

1.37 : 1