User Reviews

Are you interested in mime or ballet? Do you have a fondness for folklore or tales of the supernatural? Are you moved by the musical compositions of Ralph Vaughan Williams? If the answer to any of these is "yes", you may find some pleasure in this unusual film.

I first heard of "Willamstowne" from Classic Arts Showcase on PBS and purchased the video from a website devoted entirely to this film.

It is basically a silent movie, with just a few lines of dialogue, about Sarah, a vibrant village girl who is killed in an accident, causing endless grief to her family and friends. But she returns from the dead, so strong is her need to be with her loved ones. One of the best scenes is at the beginning as she smells once again the sweet air of the earth, and reacquaints herself with the beauty of nature.

She walks among the villagers remembering her life. They sense her presence, especially her parents and husband. We see her remembering with pain the place where she was killed. She watches her daughter grow up without her. She is constantly thwarted in her attempts to re-connect to the living.

Eventually Sarah is forced to realize that the passage between the two dimensions of life and death runs one way. She must accept her own death and allow others to live in peace.

Sarah is played by the beautiful Deni Delory who moves like a dancer though she never actually dances. It is only through her sheer presence that the film achieves any level of conviction. Without her there would be little to admire, for the other actors range from the unbearable to the intolerable. This is especially true of Richard Horian who plays her husband. It is to Horian's discredit that he cast himself in this role that cries out for a powerful male presence. He comes across as an unappealing laborer devoid of personality. One can only wonder why she would return from the grave for him.

Some scenes are uncomfortably sentimental, some are silly, such as the young boy who caresses a grotesque female figurine from the stem of a ship. The presumed erotic effect escaped me completely. I found myself cringing.

But the real raison d'être of this movie is the lush music of Vaughan Williams whose "Fantasia on a Theme of Thomas Tallis" runs throughout the entire film giving it a sweep and a purpose it would not otherwise have. It is said that producer Horian was so enamored of the piece that he felt impelled to weave a tale around it.

Not everyone will like "Williamstowne". A thin plot, unfortunate casting and clunky amateurish moments take their toll. Notwithstanding all that, the concept of setting a wordless tale to great music has merit, but a much stronger hand is needed than one finds here.

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. From the very beginning frames, I new I was going to be transported to a place I had never been or had not been to in a very long time. This place ended up being myself. A visit to that stuff deep inside that we either deny or push deeper.

Even though the story is about a ghost returning to a half life to be with loved ones, one can't help but immediately reflect internally. Its about me, its about all of us. Love, life, death, all those things we don't really talk about any more; let alone feel about at the deepest roots.

Williamstowne is an intensely personal movie going experience that best be served with the lights out and the volume on your sound system turned to 11.

If you feel things deeply, i highly recommend this film. if you rate the quality of your movies by how many explosions there are or how many times the car flips in the air after avoidable staged collisions, then view elsewhere.

I loved it so much and was so grateful for its expression of humanity that it is not even appropriate to discuss the film in minutia. It defies all usual classifications. The actors all do their jobs with special applause to the beautiful Deni Deloria. The cinematography; eat with a spoon. The music; well the music is the film, exquisite.

This film swept me away with its ballet-like realization of three of the four symphonic poems of Ralph Vaughan Williams: the Lark Ascending, Divas and Lazarus, and the magnificent Tallis Fantasia. RVW's luscious music is combined here with a story-line of equal emotional intensity: the tragic accidental death of a young woman, full of life, who was loved and is mourned by everyone in her village. Each year, her spirit returns to the village for one day. It is not a "haunting", as described in some reviews, but a sequence of heartbreaking (and sometimes playful) reunions. The scenery is rural, the time is colonial America, the clothing is tasteful, the people are straightforward and uncomplicated. It is a welcome change from mainstream films.

There are only a very few words spoken in the film; if you mute the audio, it essentially becomes a "silent film"; with the audio on, it is a "ballet" with no dancing, or an "opera film" with no singing. Not a common film format, but one which works well here.

I must confess that my personal experience is very prejudicial in favor of this film. First, the scene where Sarah's ghost visits her loving parents always moves me to tears. Perhaps it evokes deep-seated memories of my mother telling me about the death of her full-of-life granddaughter (my niece)- it was the only time I ever heard my mother cry. Second, I cannot resist the Tallis Fantasia music, which always sweeps me up into its rich musical sound, progressing slowly from a peaceful beginning to a majestic peak and resolution. I have often choreographed the Tallis Fantasia in my mind in various ways - usually as an inspirational biblical epic. To see an actual choreography of the Tallis music was thus irresistible. Third, my ancestors for several generations back are all from New England. And fourth, I have been a classical musician since childhood: piano, choral, symphonic, opera, ballet. I enjoy seeing music and actions performed at a pace where they can be savored slowly, not gulped.

But even in the absence of these experiences, I think this film will still find a place in the hearts of all gentle souls.