In the Bleak Midwinter

The idea had been growing in Kenneth Branagh's mind for a long time. He had wanted to make the film In the Bleak Midwinter for four years. However, there was no time or opportunity to work on a script until the autumn of 1994. The story takes place in a abandoned church in the English countryside. Seven unemployed actors are preparing a production of Hamlet. They don't have much time or money, but the will is there. During their time together the mixed group of people get to know themselves and each other. In the Bleak Midwinter is both a touching and very British comedy. It is also more personal and intimate than we have usually come to expect from the declared genius of Kenneth Branagh. However, he continues his personal crusade against the general state of ignorance. The name of the medicine is William Shakespeare. After the commercial and artistic failure of the big budget film Mary Shelley's Frankenstein, Branagh returns to England with a small budget and without a big company to back him up. The result is a spectacular and sometimes brilliant story, shot in black and white. Branagh himself does not appear in the film. Instead he has chosen to concentrate on the work behind the camera. This is obvious in the simple but well thought-out visual composition, where Branagh has ''edited'' while shooting instead of at the cutting suite. The scenes grow and intertwine naturally. Frequently several events are acted out simultaneously. The main plot is acted out in the foreground while something else goes on in the background. Furthermore the story is played out by an impressive cast. Famous, skilled or simply promising actors who are convincing, to a large extent because of the fact that they play themselves. On the whole In the Bleak Midwinter is an actors' vehicle with excellent opportunities for the actors to overact and make digressions into theatrical monologues. The characters play actors who in their turn play different parts. A microcosm, in a larger macrocosm, where everybody play their character. All in a story told with the help of Hamlet, the mother of all plays. To further emphasize the comical aspects of the film one could mention that Julia Sawalha and Jennifer Saunders from the TV-series Absolutely Fabulous are in the cast. Sawalha plays Nina who in turn plays Ophelia. Saunders plays a giggling American producer with a Texan accent. The icing on the cinematic cake. TS

Premiärstatus
Nordisk premiär: Medverkande
Michael Maloney, Richard Briers, Mark Hadfield: Producent
David Barron: Manus
Kenneth Branagh: Foto
Roger Lanser: Musik
Jimmy Yuill