Photographing Fairies (1997)

Plot: Set in the early 1900's a story about a man who loses his newly married wife in a tragic accident discovers through photography that there is a world beyond this one where. A woman whose children took pictures of fairy like creatures, comes to him seeking proof that they are real. Although he is a skeptic at first, through the use of a hallucinogenic flower the children have, he discovers this other world, and longs for it to reunite him with his dead wife. Comments: Great acting by Toby Stephens in my opinion he deserves an academy award for best actor for his role in this. He leads you through this lovely story and makes you believe there is another world beyond where we exist. He had a great supporting cast Emily Woof, the beautiful Rachel Shelly, Ben Kingsley the little girls.. all played their roles superbly.I loved this story-line, I realize it was a remake of an older version of this story, but so much better done with modern screen technology. Its use of the flower to transform the states of consciousness, bring the fairies alive, making you believe in the hereafter. It had an endearing love story of a man obsessed with the wife he lost embedded in this mystery of the fairies. It has a great script adaptation and directing too. I don't know why I had to find this film years later in Netflix category I probably would not look at for a film like this, with such a bad description that I almost didn't watch it. Yet this film is so much better than most movies I see today. It has a good story line, mysterious and intriguing, great acting, what can I say but do watch it if you haven't seen it you will be pleasantly surprised.

I absolutely love this film and am so happy to own the DVD of it.What a shame that this film was released so close on the heels of the other fairy film and thus was overlooked at the box office! Even today it holds up so well and both surprises and delights the viewer.We are transported into a thoroughly magical yet unpredictable realm to explore what might be possible or merely hoped for in the next world - a place "as real as Clacton on Sea" or a "state of mind" only. The pain, sorrow, hope, and fulfillment of the human journey are artistically offered to the viewer in a way that draws each human in.Every piece of the production complements the others. The cast is perfect - especially Toby Stephens in his portrayal of a vulnerable yet truly determined seeker of the truth. Some reviewers have remarked on the slow pace, but I love the time allotted for each event or revelation in the story. When I am given the time to feel what the character feels as the story is developing, I relish each twist and turn that much more! Oh, how I wish this could be re-released in theatres! This film deserves much greater recognition that it originally received. If you can only view or rent this film, do so. But if you are able to find a DVD to purchase - do so with utmost haste. You will not regret it! I, myself, have also just ordered the original book by Steve Szilagyi on which the script if based.

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.

The schism between belief and science, religion and technology, the afterlife and end of life, childhood innocence and adult reality, are all themes which flow through this marvelous film. Photographing Fairies is a deceptive title for a film that is more than a simple tale of two little girls who claimed to photograph little flying sprites in rural Birkinwell, England. During the latter quarter of the 19th century and into the 20th century, beliefs about civilization as the privilege of modern western society was shaken by the reality of modern social ills culminating with the devastation wreaked by WWI.From this groundwork, two men loose their wives - Charles Castle, a grieving photographer who lost his wife on their honeymoon and earns his living by creating memorial photographs of dead soldiers for grieving families. The second and darker character is a country parson, Rev. Templeton whose very calling relies on humanity's ultimate desire to believe in something more, in life after death but which he has not maintained. Templeton's wife Beatrice approached Castle with the photograph offering evidence of fairies with their young daughters. Castle analyzes the image and arrives at the conclusion no trick photography was involved. He sets out to discover the "truth" of the image with mind-altering results. Although somewhat heavy-handed in some symbolic references to Christian beliefs, this is balanced by the notion of fairies as pre-Christian elemental beings of Nature. In addition, the use of an organic flower is key to the transition to "slow time" that enables whoever consumes it to see what is invisible to the naked eye of modern man, and ultimately, to technology. 19th century photography enabled audiences to possess visual evidence of the living and the dead as well as the spiritual as the trends for post-mortem and spirit photography was fashionable for the Victorians. As Castle's beliefs are replaced with new mystical experiences, Rev. Templeton is adamant to thwart any efforts that deny his beliefs and self-indulgent practices.This is a subtle storyline that belies the title and it is all for the better. Superior acting from Toby Stevenson and Ben Kingsley lift the story to a level that leaves the audience pondering several questions that become more intriguing on multiple viewings. Wonderful period costuming, locations, and soundtrack have been commented on by others and all in all, Photographing Fairies is worth the watch.