Thursday 10 June 2010

THE RAILWAY CHILDREN: NOTES

When I saw The Railway Children the film a long time ago, I could not forget Jenny Agutter’s portrayal of Bobbie, or Roberta. Reading the E. Nesbit’s book on which the movie was based, the characterization of goody goody Roberta was such that provoked an irresistible desire to put my hands on her tender 12 year old neck and wring and wring and wring  it until she stopped flapping her wings. I have to say that, not being born or raised in Britain, I only read the novel this week. I found it extremely exasperating, if I had been a kid reading it, most probably I would have chucked it straight away into the dust bin.

Yes, it was written in a different era, depicted so much like a fairy tale that reminded me of David Cameron’s take on the Big Society, a society of goody goody children rather than greedy greedy bankers and environmentally and socially abusive oil corporations.

Lionel Jeffries’ film, fortunately, concentrated on, for what I remember, the depiction of the human story rather than the depiction of a socially contented society, if you allow me the repetition of words, which it was not. The General Strike was not that far away, and the Great War was lurking just around the corner of history.

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