leisurerevolution I saw this film on television 3 years ago, very late night and I was totally unprepared for the emotional and magical experiential experiences. Photographing fairies is a film that juxtaposes Edwardian life with the supernatural and the advent of photographic technology. It has references to Conan Doyles life long interest with the theosophical society. It also alludes to the myths and legends of the English Fairy Stories, and Sheakspeares Midsummer Nights Dream. Nick Willing's 1997 film has a stellar cast Toby Stephens plays the young ex-army photographer who after experiencing grief goes on a long emotional journey as he come to terms with the loss of his wife. Stephen's character is still searching for the love of his life and I feel still questioning the absoluteness of death. Until one day in walks the Reverends wife, played by Francis Barber. She makes an unusual request and asks Stephen's character to visit her village and document some unusual activities, It turns out the the Edwardian high church village community are challenged by the intervention of an Alice in wonderland scenario. The Reverend, Ben Kingsley's character feels he is responsible for the moral and spiritual upkeep of the village as well as the nation, and goes on a crusade to prove and upheld a way of life that had never been challenged before. Emily Woolf's character as the 'love interest' belies the very essence of 'never ending love' and the nature of relationships. Whilst the vicar's children, teeter vicariously on the edge of childhood fearlessness and feralness abound, and all rules of nature are not what they seem. The combination of fairy magic,malevolence and the children's 'imagination's' coupled with the machinations of the'fairy kingdom' makes this movie achieve the rare goal of suspending our belief and making the surreal seem real. Their is brilliant storytelling,I haven't read the book yet; and intelligent direction also beautiful cinematography. Yet I can not buy this movie in a retail store because apparently it is not available. Well I think its about time, it is now 2011: The producers of 'Photographing Faries' make it available as a re-issue on DVD, and become mature about the distribution deals and make us so called 'consumers'happy. They could be making themselves a quick buck in the process. Miss Anderson

Vomitron_G What I probably enjoyed most about PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES was that it's a different take on the afterlife-theme. As much as it is a compelling movie that draws you into its mystery, it also hesitates in settling on one genre which makes the movie a bit slow at times. Luckily the story is intriguing enough to keep you interested. I really wanted to see this film because of two reasons. One being director Nick Willing. I had already seen his DOCTOR SLEEP (aka HYPNOTIC) and THE RIVER KING which I enjoyed very much. The second reason was that I'd seen that other fairy-movie based on the same events involving a photograph showing a true fairy at the beginning of the 20th century. That movie was FAIRYTALE: A TRUE STORY and was released the same year as PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES. Even though I recall liking FAIRYTALE a little bit more, I still have to say that Nick Willing made an astonishingly beautiful debut with PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES.The movie is part love-story, part fairy-tale mystery, part drama and that's what slows the general development towards the final conclusion a bit down. Still, the swifting between genres happens very smoothly. The acting was very decent all the time, especially Toby Stephens playing Charles Castle. His character is given a lot of depth. He is a war-photographer who loses his fresh wife in a mountain-accident the day after their wedding. He then stumbles through his life a bit cold-hearted and unaffected by danger. After the war he turns to the routine of portrait photography. Until the day a woman walks into his office, showing him a blurry photo of a girl holding a fairy in her hand. After some tests, Charles is convinced the photo isn't fake and sets off to solve the mystery.Like I said, Charles Castle has a lot of psychological content, which is always good for a protagonist. The only problem concerning the actors I had, was with Ben Kingsley. It's a bit sad, really, but after seeing him in BLOODRAYNE and A SOUND OF THUNDER, I simply cannot take the poor man seriously anymore. The sets and costumes were all convincing as well as the occasional effects (only the scenes on the snowy mountain were clearly filmed on a set, making it all look a bit fake). The movie has a very nice musical score by Simon Boswell, but it does feel a bit too dominant at times. Even though I figured out very early the exact origin of the fairies, I couldn't possibly predict the actions of the protagonist towards the end. There were quite a lot of elements in the story I liked (the flower used as a drug to alter perception, the origin of the fairies,...) and I also liked the ending. But I thoroughly disliked the little epilogue on the mountain. What the hell were the filmmakers (probably the producers) trying to say with it? It would be very stupid to make us believe that between the prologue and epilogue the movie simply didn't happen. That might work for a psychological horror movie, but not for this type of film. So I'll rule that option out. I think I'll simply please myself with the explanation that the scriptwriter was trying to say that in a perfect world, Charles Castle would have been able to save his wife on the mountain. Sadly the real world isn't perfect, end of story. That would work more for me than the producers trying to shove a forced happy-end feeling down our throats. And otherwise I would deduct a serious amount of points from the over-all rating for PHOTOGRAPHING FAIRIES, which I refuse to do. Because this movie is beautiful and worth seeing.

david-bartlett-2 Such a shame that this beautiful film has been so overlooked and dismissed. I can think of few films that deal with the issue of loss and grief so sensitively and with such original flair. Nick Willing's film is tender, mysterious, moving and confident. And, often quite rare in modern cinema, his characters actually deliver and go on a genuine journey. In short, this film takes us somewhere. I believe Mr Willing and his producers have been criticised heavily for their fairy effects: the fairies that appear are sometimes lithe, naked little nymphs, and sometimes plump little men. Both are absolutely perfectly judged, in my opinion, providing something as far from Disney as possible, but entirely in keeping with the Edwardian mood of the whole piece. Moreover, the lighting, pacing, over-cranking and scoring of the sequences wherein the fairies appear are masterfully handled. As a film-maker myself, I find this film an inspiration. The end of the film is unbelievably balletic and touching. Ben Kingsley, Toby Stephens and Edward Hardwicke are splendid. The score by Simon Boswell is also an absolute gem, and it's a shame this isn't on general release on CD. One of the great British films of the end of the century.

tinker99 Photographing Fairies was loosely based on the book of the same name by Steven Szylagi. It deals with a fictional fairy incident of two girls, in post World War 1 England, who claimed to have photographed fairies; as seen through the cynical eyes of a photographer bent on proving the girls false. Charles Castle, a British photographer who specializes in trick photography. He is a man haunted by the death of his wife. Following a visit to a Philosophical Society meeting where he debunks the mystical by explaining tricks of the camera along side Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he is approached by a woman who has taken a photograph of her daughter with a fairy standing in her hand and is asked to try and disprove the pictures using empirical logic and the modern camera obscura. This begins his adventure into a world he has never believed in and has gone out of his way to disprove. What he finds is unexpected and spiritually magical. Photographing Fairies is as surprising and touching a movie as it is haunting. High-quality cinema at its best - great acting, a clever story, superb special effects, spell binding soundtrack, and an intriguing examination of the religious and philosophical questions we all face. Love, death, grief, spirituality, and rebirth / redemption; these are the critical elements that weave throughout this movie. Toby Stephens gives a stunning performance as a character, Charles Castle who radiates Humanity and feeling, portraying the personal conflict of a man grasping for understanding years after the tragic accidental death of his wife on their honeymoon. Ben Kingsley offers a ruggedly convincing yet disturbing performance as the country preacher (and father of the girls) ministering to his flock amidst the spiritual void of his times in a post WWI English village. He masks the feelings of pride, avarice, rage, homicide, jealousy, infidelity, gluttony, nearly all the seven deadly sins and more. His is the perfect counter to the fantasy elements and brings a convincing sense of realism to the storyline. The girls in this movie are surprisingly innocent in their well-scripted dialogue and action scenes. They are pivotal characters to the childlike view that pits adult sensibilities and reason to the spiritual test.The music was a subtle treasure throughout the movie. Its main theme is played as everything from a dance tune to a funeral dirge, and it will stay with you far after the movie. It is that `haunting' quality of the tune that adds that extra ethereal touch to the total effect of the movie. The 'death song' is a part of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, and has been recorded by Sarah Brightman as Figlio Perduto. The movie has definite religious undertones. Photographing Fairies makes no distinctions about beliefs. The preacher-father character is the pastor for a small church, and the heaven ideas can be adapted to suit almost any taste. Its challenge is to the basis of belief itself, and begs to ask a single daunting question "What if heaven were as real as a place?" Much of the magic that makes Photographing Fairies such a resounding success is the elements of love / death / and the longing to recapture ones state of personal grace. A feeling of redemption as real and achievable as the magic of a child's innocence. No matter what your philosophical/religious beliefs are, you will be moved by what you feel in this movie. Its touching message will compel you to view this movie over-and-over again.