Spikeopath Photographing Fairies is directed by Nick Willing who co-adapts with Chris Harrald from the book of the same name written by Steve Szilagyi. It stars Toby Stephens, Emily Woof, Ben Kingsley, Frances Barber & Philip Davis. Music is scored by Simon Boswell and John DeBorman is the cinematographer. Plot finds Stephens as photographer Charles Castle, a level headed man who took delight in debunking the Cottingley Fairies pictures as being fake. However, this brings him into contact with the Templeton family and what appears to be an authentic looking image of a tiny fairy. It's the beginning of journey that will prove to be as magical as it is dangerous.No! This is not the fairy film about the girls who faked the Cottingley Fairies pictures. Released the same year, that film was called Fairy Tale: A True Story, a very nice film in its own right, but this is a very different animal. Very much a unique film, Photographing Fairies has a number of words that frequently crop up when reading about, or discussing it. Weird, hypnotic, beautiful, tragic, odd, haunting, dreamy, surreal and poetic, any one of those can be used to describe Nick Willing's movie. Ultimately it's the word mystical that best sums it up, with the film weaving together intriguing premise's that in turn are played out with gorgeous visuals. Charles Castle's search for the truth is not merely that, himself in grief, as he searches for physical evidence, it leads him to something more, arguably something all encompassing and not worldly. The movie poses many questions as it explores the likes of paganism, animism and the role of hallucinogens in bringing to life a world beyond the physical one we all know. Refreshingly, we the audience are not fed the answers, and the film is all the better for it.More known for his work on music videos, Nick Willing blasted out of the directing blocks with this as his debut big screen offering. That he hasn't gone on to far better things is a mystery given the first class work he does here. Some of the scenes here are remarkable, truly, and aided considerably by DeBorman's pin-sharp photography he's made a visually hypnotic interest story that's paced to precision. Simon Boswell provides a swirling romantic score, flecked with mystic tones and nicely entwined with Beethoven's Seventh Symphony, it's very tonally correct and worthy of re-visits on its own. The cast are on good form, with Kingsley doing creepy folk religious and Stephens a nice line in a man hurting within, showing cynical arrogance, yet opening up his layers the further he delves into the mystery. Come the finale, a tragic-beauty finale at that, the film has come full circle and it's credit to Stephens that he has been able to carry us along with him at all times. Emily Woof (Velvet Goldmine/The Full Monty) also shines bright in the difficult (spiritual) romantic role, while the child actors are thankfully adorable and never annoying.A film to capture the imagination of those with an open mind or for those with a leaning to the mystical, Photographing Fairies is a little gem. 9/10

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.

sol- Not at all a children's movie despite the fantasy premise, this is surprisingly quite a dark mystery tale, even if it is a bit too whimsical for its own good. The film puts a unique spin on ideas about fairies, and it has some things to say about believing what one wants to believe. Both the audio and visual effects and interesting, there is some nice gliding cinematography and the music is very fitting too. Still, the film fails to answer some pressing questions, some sequences add little to the product, and lastly towards the end it really drags, taking much too long to finish. But either way, it is one of the most creative, oddly fascinating British films that I have seen from the 1990s.

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.