Audience Rating: R (Restricted) Binding: VHS Tape EAN: 9786305177340 Format: Closed-captioned ISBN: 6305177341 Label: Polygram USA Video Manufacturer: Polygram USA Video Number Of Items: 1 Publisher: Polygram USA Video Release Date: 1999-05-11 Running Time: 106 Studio: Polygram USA Video Theatrical Release Date: 1998
The true story of two English children who claimed they photographed fairies in 1917 produced two different movies in the late 1990s. Not as well-known as the earnest family drama FairyTale: A True Story, the English-made Photographing Fairies takes a much more adult angle on the incident. The film follows not the children, but Charles Castle (Toby Stephens), a young photographer who loses his beloved wife on their honeymoon. A shell of a man through World War I, Castle rediscovers faith when he is convinced the fairy photographs have not been faked (in a superb sequence reminiscent of Blowup). Castle makes a pilgrimage to the site where he discovers--in another vast departure from the other movie--narcotic flowers and erotic fairies that dazzle his sprit. Ben Kingsley costars as the down-to-earth preacher set to make his town right again. This first film by Nick Willing (TV's Alice in Wonderland) is a rare undiscovered gem, trippy and elegant, that deserved a release in the U.S. --Doug Thomas
Spotlight customer reviews:
Customer Rating: Summary: Crisis Of Faith In Fairyland ~ Guarding The Border Between This World And The Next Comment: Introduction: `Photographing Fairies' is an obscure British film from '98 that to my knowledge was never released to American theaters. It was available in limited quantities on VHS but has yet to appear on a REGION 1 DVD.
This probably shouldn't be too surprising when you look at the subject matter of the film. Unlike the Emerald Isles who have an ancient and ongoing oral and written tradition concerning the "wee folk", American audiences are vastly untutored in the topic of the intangible realm of the "Secret Commonweath" and its myriad of inhabitants. Tales of fairies, elves, undines and fauns are not something that would normally dwell in the psyche of U.S. natives. For this reason more than any other 'Photographing Fairies' remains all but unknown on this side of the Atlantic Ocean.
Synopsis: Set in the early years of the 20th century (1917) widower Charles Castle (Toby Stephens) has finally come to the ultimate moment of truth in his search to discover tangible proof for the existence of the soul and life after death. Is the passage to the world beyond found within the pungent buds of a very special flower? And if so what is the role to be played by the winged guardians of these flowers and the tree upon which they grow? Are they truly connected to the realm of the dead? Mr. Castle seems to think so.
Critique: `Photographing Fairies' delivers a beguiling, at times hallucinogenic vision of the rich and textured borderland between the physical, the psychic and what lies beyond. The production values are superior, the storyline well-conceived and layered with various levels of meaning and the visuals are absolutely haunting. Without a doubt this is one of my favorite films! So far it's only been available on a now OOP VHS tape and this REGION 2, Full Screen version DVD. Where's the REGION 1 RELEASE? Customer Rating: Summary: The clash between alternate and consensus worldviews. Comment: "Photographing Fairies" is a haunting, sad, and sometimes terrifying story about society's oppression of alternate belief systems. The main character, Charles Castle (Toby Stephens), is a British World War I veteran who undergoes a personal tragedy at the start of the film. His loss throws him into a bitter resistance to life. Believing that existence has no meaning, he glumly earns a living as a photographer in London, and takes little pleasure in his business or his art. But then, a woman brings him a photograph she has taken of her daughter communing with a fairy. He suspects a hoax, and assumes she has somehow altered the picture. But an epiphany is in store for him. After he stays up an entire night struggling, without success, to figure out how the photograph has been faked, he instead finds proof that the photograph is indeed an accurate depiction of a fairy. He is forced to admit that there may indeed be more to life than meets the eye.
Immediately heading out to the rural area where the woman and her daughters live, he dedicates himself to exploring the mystery contained in the photograph. Although the woman dies in an accident soon after his arrival, he stays on and tries to wrest the secret of the fairies from her daughters. Meanwhile he must contend with her rigid, authoritarian husband (Ben Kingsley), an Anglican priest who despises everything the belief in fairies represents. The struggle between the two men becomes a struggle between two social viewpoints--a close-minded, mean-spirited Christianity which spurns any sort of mystery which cannot be explained by its dogma, and the quest for knowledge by seekers for whom the conventional answers no longer work. The film also builds tension between the idea of the meaningless, clockwork universe and the notion of a living, ensouled world. The film has stunning visual effects, with exquisite hovering fairies pulling the viewer into Castle's alluring alternate reality. Meanwhile, the film's interpersonal and social conflicts intensify in measured steps, ultimately exploding in a violent act of destruction.
Perhaps what is most compelling about the story, however, is the development of Charles Castle's character from a bitter materialist into a man who trusts his perceptions in the face of intense social pressure to conform. There is a fascinating ambiguity towards the end of the film, as we see, on the one hand, Castle veering into what many might call madness. On the other hand we must also question the sanity of a society which so blindly adheres to ignorance of realities beyond our narrow, everyday vision. We are left with the feeling that perhaps his choices are the only sane ones he is able to make given the culture he is forced to live in. And his courage in facing the unknown is thrown into high relief against the backdrop of his peers' craven clinging to a socially sanctioned worldview. This is a beautiful, tense, illuminating and emotionally violent film. It should raise questions for--and inspire--anyone who has been ridiculed or criticized for having a vision that goes against, or beyond, that of the herd.
Customer Rating: Summary: My favorite Toby Stephens movie (sorry, Rochester!) Comment: I love and adore this movie. It needs badly to be put on DVD (I found an expensive bootleg that I can't afford so I have the VHS instead). I loved everything about it - the sets, the costumes, the acting. I would not change a thing. If there is a way to lobby for it to be put into DVD format, I would be the first in line to do so. I won't go into what the movie is about, the other competent reviewers have covered that. Customer Rating: Summary: Love, romance and spiritual awakenings.... Comment: This little film will spark many discussions about the afterlife and meaning of eternal love. It can be a hard find, but worth the search. I'm hoping someone sees fit to rerelease this little gem in DVD with the proper advertising and use of the growing Toby Stephens fan base. A wonderful film I should never have found had it not been for my interest in this actor's work. Look for it, you will not be diappointed! Customer Rating: Summary: The power of dreams Comment: This is a little known but perfectly formed gem that is guaranteed to stay with you forever. Based on a remarkable true story that will simply blow your mind it is a multi-layered examination of our belief systems and why they are so limiting of our imaginations. If you hunger for something more than just the physical reality of this world then you will be riveted by what this film reveals. The story of the two little girls and their discovery is remarkable enough on its own. What they did with it in this film is an absolute artistic triumph. For such a tremendous achievement to still not be available on DVD is a crime. Will someone please do something about it. I saw this many years ago and I would like nothing better than to watch it again, but I cannot stand to see a 'pan and scan' version. DVD version now please!
