A Month in the Country (1987)

Five centuries ago, a mural was created in a country church in the north of England, and then hidden under layers of white paint. Looking at it again will be a distraction, the Reverend Mr.... See full summary »

Director:

Pat O'Connor

Writers:

J.L. Carr (novel), Simon Gray

Stars:

Colin Firth, Kenneth Branagh, John Atkinsons

1 win.

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Colin Firth	...	Birkin
John Atkinsons	...	Old Man on Train
Jim Carter	...	Ellerbeck
Patrick Malahide	...	Reverend Keach
Kenneth Branagh	...	James Moon
Richard Vernon	...	Colonel Hebron
Tim Barker	...	Mossop
Vicki Arundale	...	Kathy
Martin O'Neil	...	Edgar
Natasha Richardson	...	Alice Keach
Tony Haygarth	...	Douthwaite
Eileen O'Brien	...	Mrs. Ellerbeck
Elizabeth Anson	...	Lucy Sykes
Barbara Marten	...	Mrs. Sykes
Ken Kitson	...	Mr. Sykes (as Kenneth Kitson)

Storyline

Five centuries ago, a mural was created in a country church in the north of England, and then hidden under layers of white paint. Looking at it again will be a distraction, the Reverend Mr. Keach tells World War I veteran Tom Birken, who will spend a month in the country restoring the mural. Another veteran, James Moon, is looking for the grave of an ancestor of the patroness of the church who fought in the Crusades. The rector's wife, Alice, comes to see the mural and later visits Birken's bell tower abode, bringing a basket of apples. Will she open the book in which he has pressed the yellow rose she gave him earlier?

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Plot Keywords:

post world war one | mural | church | rose | shell shock | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Certificate:

PG

Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

4 December 1987 (Ireland)

Also Known As:

En månad på landet

Filming Locations:

Pickering, North Yorkshire, England, UK

Box Office

Gross USA:

$443,524

Company Credits

Production Co:

Channel Four Films, Euston Films, PfH Ltd.

Technical Specs

Runtime:

96 min

Sound Mix:

Mono

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Part of the movie is slightly out of focus. This is not due to its age or careless restoration, nor is it intentional. Director Pat O'Connor says in an interview included in the BFI Blu-ray/DVD edition released in 2016 that he was furious about it at the time.

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Goofs

The record being played is a 33 1/3 RPM RCA "shaded dog" label record, not a 78 RPM as should have been for the post WW I period.

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Quotes

Birkin: Look at this. Have you ever seen a detail like this in a medieval painting? Anticipates the Bruegels by 100 years. And that face... meant something to him. It's a portrait, it must be. And he was covered over years before the rest.
James Moon: It's the crescent. One could swear he was almost meant to be identifiable. Would he have dared, your painter?

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Connections

Featured in At the Movies: Breakthrough Stars of 1990 (1990)

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Soundtracks

Rock of Ages
Words by Augustus Montague Toplady
Music by Thomas Hastings
(uncredited)
Played by Kathy on the organ in the showroom

User Reviews

Colin Firth at his best!!!

It's a love story about rebirth and self healing. The foundation of the plot seems very simple: a young man comes in a town to clean the wall of a church. With a subject like that it could be absolutely boring...but it's not. "Emotion" could be the word to describe it all, though "repressed emotion" would be even more accurate. It's a delicate movie, with thousands of details you might not see the first time; it's deep and truly is a masterpiece in its genre.

Of course to appreciate it you must love repertoire movies. It's not a blockbuster movie...far from that. You must be in a slow mood I guess to enjoy it.

This is the kind of movie I would like to keep in my collection: isn't it a pity that "anonymous" has probably sold his tape already? (I cannot find it in Montreal!)