robert-temple-1 I just saw this film again after many years, and enjoyed it even more this time. It is so delightful and refreshing, that it is a complete gem. It ranks with the wonderful whimsical comedies made by Sandy Mackendrick, such as WHISKEY GALORE (1949). The film is directed by Christopher Monger, who also wrote the screenplay, based on a story published by his father Ifor David Monger, who in turn heard the story from his own father. It seems that the story is essentially true. Considering how astonishing the story is, that really is remarkable. The film is set in 1917 in South Wales, just north of Cardiff, in a village with a long name which only the Welsh can pronounce. The Mongers were Welsh and so was Kenneth Griffiths, whose performance as the Methodist minister Robert Jones is spectacular and inspired, one of the best-honed comic performances in a British film for decades. He was 73 at the time. The humour of this film is the gentle, gnomic and teasing humour which the English use when they are making films about how charming, but deeply odd, either the Welsh or the Scots are. In this case it's the Welsh. I am very fond of the Welsh and have spent a great deal of time in South Wales, and I love the sing-song accent of the Welsh. I think most English people are fond of the Welsh, looking upon them as a quizzical species inhabiting the far west of the island, whom they wish they could understand. There is nothing the Welsh like better than half-teasing and half-insulting Englishmen, and there is plenty of that in the film, all hilariously funny of course. And when a Welshman gets stuffy, he may have a friend say to him, as happens in this film: 'Stop being so English.' Well, it is wartime and young Hugh Grant has just recovered from shell shock after taking part in the battle of Verdun, and is travelling on an assignment for the Ordnance Survey with a much older man, played by the totally hilarious Ian McKenzie. The humour in this film is all well-judged, and never over-played, though they come near it many a time. The Welsh in this village are very proud of the fact that just beyond their village is 'the first mountain in Wales', after which the mountains continue to rise up and define northern Wales. McKenzie and Grant have come to do an official survey and determine the height of the little mountain. McKenzie announces in the pub that if the mountain is less than 1000 feet high, it will be reclassified on the official maps as a hill. All of the villagers are deeply shocked, and are full of apprehension that their one claim to distinction will be taken away from them. When McKenzie and Grant are able to measure the height they find that it is 984 feet, and the mountain is therefore a hill. The whole village goes into shock, and they determine to take measures to save the reputation of their mountain. So they form chains of people to carry soil up to the top and raise the height of their hill so that it can become a mountain again. All the goings-on are so wonderfully funny and complex that they defy summary, but this film is certainly a chuckle-a-minute, punctuated by one's guffaws. About half way through the film the pretty girl, Betty, enters the story. She is played impishly and naughtily by Tara Fitzgerald. Tara and I were once 'sport champions' together in an episode hilarious enough to be in the Welsh film. My wife and I were staying with our friends the Hitchings for Christmas at Swalcliffe, and Tara was with her friends the Harrises, next door at Swalcliffe, when we all came together for purposes of merriment with a considerable amount of hearty drinking for an evening. Tara was determined to play a game of hockey, despite the fact that it was dark outside and very cold, and insisted on playing hockey on the Harris family's tennis court, which was beside their house. I had never played hockey, but because Tara is very bossy and readily takes charge (even aged 14), she soon set me straight. It was enormous fun playing hockey on a tennis court, lit only by the light that came from the windows, and with wisps of snow drifting across the court. Tara and I won a heroic victory and were much toasted. She is one hell of a gal, and as determined as they come. She always adds a note of piquancy to any film she is in, including this one. Hugh Grant was at his very best in this film, and it was only much later that he irritated everyone by becoming too self-regarding and pompous with his Hacked Off campaign. Who cares if Hugh Grant's phone was bugged? I don't. He probably only talked a load of rubbish anyway. But in this film he is perfectly charming, so all is well, because he was still young and unspoiled. The film really is a marvel. If only there were more like it.

tieman64 Christopher Monger's "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill and Came Down A Mountain" is a gentle comedy about a pair of English cartographers (Hugh Grant and Ian McNeice) who travel to the tiny Welsh village of Ffynnon Garw in the year 1917. During their journey they reclassify a mountain as a hill, much to the chagrin of local Welsh folk, who immediately set about increasing the size of their hill so as to reclaim its mountainous status.The film was released the same year as "Braveheart", Mel Gibson's bloody hymn to ye olde Scotland. Monger's film is operating in a similar way, though its far more gentle, poking fun at all things English and exalting all things Welsh. Pitched at tourists, the film's designed to win you over with its lovable locals, quaint tone, funny customs and low key romance between an Englishman and Welsh rose.The film is supposedly based on a true story, or at least a local legend. Regardless, in Monger's hands the hill becomes a means of restoring both the Welsh community's war damaged self esteem within the film, and a means of bolstering Welsh patriotism outside the film. The National Assembly for Wales, which grants Wales the power to pass legislation without having to consult the UK parliament, was formed shortly after the film's release. Meanwhile, the cast's uncertainty as to what makes a hill and what makes a mountain (and when does one become the other?) is used as a means of cross-cultural bridge-building. You may look Welsh, may look English, but gee, you might as well be one of us.8/10 – Worth one viewing.

Gordon-11 This film is about the villagers in a Welsh village building a mountain from a hill.The determination of the villagers is striking. It touches me that everyone in the village used every imaginable way to heighten the hill to a mountain. The train conductor has to lie, villagers have to do some vandalism, and a woman has to flirt to make the two surveyors stay. It shows that even the hardest task can be achieved through collective effort. It also reminds us not to give up even if there are obstacles that hinder our progress. This film brings such a warm and positive message, which is a rarity nowadays.

lastliberal I know this wasn't a huge success. Grant committed to doing it before his huge hit Four Weddings and a Funeral, but it was fun nonetheless.The conflict between the uptight Englishmen and the Welsh villagers over whether they had a hill or a mountain was extremely funny, and their solution - getting Ian McNeice drunk and keeping Hugh Grant busy with Tara Fitzgerald, who also played Grant's wife in Sirens added to the hilarity.The randy barkeep comes up with the solution to the problem, ostensibly to sell more beer, but it gets the whole town working together and make for an enjoyable film.