My Family and Other Animals (2005) (TV)

User Rating:

7.5/10   

Director:

Sheree Folkson

Writers:

Gerald Durrell (book)
Simon Nye (written by)

Release Date:

27 December 2005 (UK)

Genre:

Comedy

Plot:

An English family relocates to sunny Greece in the months before WWII.

Plot Keywords:

Corfu | Naturalist | Greek Island | Eccentricity | Turtle

Awards:

1 nomination

Cast

Imelda Staunton	...	Mother
Chris Langham	...	Theodore Stephanides
Omid Djalili	...	Spiro
Matthew Goode	...	Larry Durrell
Russell Tovey	...	Leslie Durrell
Tamzin Merchant	...	Margot Durrell
Eugene Simon	...	Gerald Durrell
Kostas Tziotakis	...	Customs Officer
Mihalis Giannatos	...	Porter / Waiter (as Michalis Giannatos)
Olga Tournaki	...	Agathi
Dimitris Kaberidis	...	Rose-Beetle Man
David Armand	...	George
Antonis Antoniou	...	Yani
George Couyas	...	Turkish Boyfriend
Efi Papatheodorou	...	Lugaretsia

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

Australia:PG

Filming Locations:

Corfu, Greece

Company:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC)

Quotes:

[first lines]
Larry Durrell: Why do we put up with this bloody climate? I mean, look at us: Gerry can't speak,
Gerald Durrell: Uh?
Larry Durrell: Lesley can't hear.
Leslie Durrell: What?
Larry Durrell: Margot's got a face like a plate of red porridge.
Margot Durrell: Shut up.
Larry Durrell: Mother's beginning to look like an Irish washerwoman.
Mother: I am not.
Larry Durrell: It's August. We need sunshine.
[...]

Absolutely marvelous!

I caught this movie on PBS at four in the morning and was hooked for the next two hours. It's a funny, original story beautifully shot (one assumes on location in Greece). The focus of the film is on the youngest member of an eccentric British family and his absorbing interest in nature, but the rest of his clan all have their own unique quirks. It's a little bit like James Herriot by way of ALICE IN WONDERLAND. But what impressed me most of all was the assured direction. It jumps from character to character and incident to incident, all vastly amusing, without ever becoming boring or wasting a frame. It makes me want to hunt down the TV series or go read the books. By all means catch this if you ever have a chance.