The Windermere Children

Review contains mild spoilers. The first half is heart-breaking, and it'll raise your ire at the concentration camp atrocities. The film brings home its points by showing the children's reactions to ordinary things but which actually recall aspects of the concentration camp. Towards the film's end you feel uplifted as you're delighted for the young children and their progress. But the transition between start and end doesn't flow and unfortunately is less convincing.The middle part of the film moves between scenes and there's no connection between scenes that seem symbolic only. The film's based on true events so those scenes may've happened and we're seeing them summarised. For instance: the children's paintings - instead of concentrating on the children there's a long discussion between two supervising adults; the woman with a dog (and two scenes with several local youths) represent the turning of local hostility; water/lake scenes which are shown but not explained; and a long talk scene between the staff (again, not concentrating on the children). That's a shame as by now you're invested in the young people - you now knowe Arek, Icek, Salek, Chaim etc. by name, circumstance and personality, and you want good things for them. But now you rarely see them. Their bonding is summarised in an all too short scene in a wood (you'll know it when you see it). Essentially, this film needed to be longer to allow better treatment of the middle scenes. The film's only 88 minutes including titles.The film is beautifully shot. It had a low budget. It shouted that it wasn't filmed at Windermere, not the Lake District, not Cumbria. It was filmed in Northern Ireland. Yes the original Calgarth estate no longer exists but it would've been nice to have some Windermere reference shots with some of the cast in view. That wouldn't have cost too much extra as most of the action takes place in and around the location set that represented Calgarth.Well-known actors Iain Glen ('Downton Abbey', 'Game of Thrones') and Tim McInerny ('Blackadder') play their parts suitably low-key.It's very important that true life stories from that era be told. I recommend the film. But be generous to the film-makers as necessary. The final real-life scene and 'what happened to them afterwards' text are vital, otherwise the children you've come to know would simply leave the screen abruptly, and it's both touching and fitting to see the real people and hear their words.

I really wanted to watch this video as ur school played hockey where these accommodations were. A very sad film with a happy ending. Why do we have to have wars?

entertaining

Really interesting story of evacuees to England showing the effects of war on orphaned children. Couldn’t keep it together at the end when the children in the film changed into the real people depicted and you found out what they had done with their lives. I have so much respect and admiration for these people who went through unspeakable pain as children and still succeeded in life with dignity and pride. Great story

First the price was far too expensive, for this film ,as it wasn't good as I thought it would be ,film was interesting to what happened to the children yet felt there could be more to this film .

A lot of hype before seeing this film...would not want to watch it again

The movie was so good and so sweet, but it was let down by a sub-par blu ray where the image jitters in long shots . . . Like a dvd rip. Not good. The dvd will probably not have those issues

I live in Lancashire & knew nothing about this. Although rather harrowing to begin with, it leaves you feeling very uplifted. Well worth watching, I have spoken to various family & friends about the subject matter, none of whom had any further inkling than me. I know that at least one party has actually viewed the film now & they did not borrow the DVD from me, so I presume that they had access to it on some sort of media but it wasn't on prime video.