![]() You see, he’s a selfish sort, and prefers to keep the place to himself. He’s away visiting a friend, but one day he comes back, and is not pleased at all to see his private garden being frolicked in by children. The thing is, though, they’re only able to do this because the giant in question (who’s never named, he’s just “the giant”) is not currently in residence. As it’s situated close to a small village, the local children have taken to playing in it after school, climbing the trees, listening to the birdsong, and generally having a good time. ![]() This castle has a beautiful garden surrounding it, with many flowers and trees that blossom in the spring. Somewhere in the (presumably) English countryside lives a giant, who, like most giants, resides in a castle. The story is based on a tale by Oscar Wilde, and is really pretty simple. In the meantime – ladies, gentlemen, farm animals, I present to you The Selfish Giant. It was a special part of my childhood, and will always have a place in my heart – and yet, there was a period of a number of years during which I actively avoided it. This time, I have something to share with you that I have decidedly mixed feelings about. Summary Capsule: It’s about a giant who is selfish, and learns that this is not necessarily a good thing.ĭeneb’s Rating: 3 ½ flowering trees out of five.ĭeneb’s Review: Yes, your eyes do not deceive you – here, at last, is another installment of Tales from the VHS! My apologies for taking so long between segments, but hey, there’s only so many of these that I can do, and I want to spin them out a bit – and when you start that sort of spinning, it’s sometimes difficult to stop.Īnyway. The Scoop: 1971 G, directed by Peter Sander and starring Paul Hecht and Charles Aznavour. And I will allow nobody to play in it but myself.'” Director Clio Barnard has delivered a movie that's excellently made but is in the end maybe a bit too suffocating to enjoy.“‘My own garden is my own garden,’ said the giant. The performances are excellent across the board but the end result is a reflection of a part of modern Britain that has been left to rot. And it's exhausting, spending time in a world where everyone is hostile and a threat. But the gloom pervades, as we watch violent boys become violent men in a hopeless cycle. While not as much of a vibrant hang-out movie as Shane Meadows' This is England, there are some lighter moments when the boys begin their adventures. Thankfully there's a sprinkling of levity and life in there too. With violence or the threat of it at every turn, and a lack of opportunity for everyone, there's a hopeless feeling in the air that soaks the film like the thick fog that covers the town in the movie. Chapman's performance as Arbor is achingly realistic as a boy trapped both in his community and his frantic mind, lashing out and looking for somewhere to fit in. Arbor has behavioral issues and the two boys are excluded from school after a fight in which Arbor was protecting his friend. The Selfish Giant finds two young teen boys, Arbor and Swifty, living in the north of England in a community plagued by poverty and violence. This drama may have a fairy tale title but it is devastatingly real in its depiction of the hard lives of overlooked pockets of British society. Swifty is kind to horses and Arbor's mom sticks up for Arbor, but otherwise there are few positive role models. In one scene, he attacks Arbor and tries to steal his money in order to buy drugs. Arbor's brother is depicted as living with a substance use disorder. The language is constant and includes "f-k," "bastard," and "t–t," as well as the slang terms "retard," "spaz," and "pikey." There is no respect between generations or peers with characters behaving hostile toward each other. Spoiler alert: In one of the movie's final scenes, a teen is seen being electrocuted with his burnt corpse also shown. Very loosely inspired by the Oscar Wilde story, the movie has a grim realism with frequent violence and scenes that may shock viewers. Arbor (Conner Chapman) and Swifty (Shaun Thomas) are two teens who after being excluded from school become involved with dangerous criminal activity. Parents need to know that The Selfish Giant is a British drama set in a deprived area in northern England and has strong language, drug abuse, and violence - often involving teens.
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