Review of The Country Teacher of Ban Nong He Yai (2010) by Terry E — 11 Jun 2010

1967 is a long time ago and, to be honest, Iâ??m not sure that this film has matured with the passing of time, though it was good to see it again. I have read the original book and do feel that the film was not that good a translation as it failed to capture the essence of the story of a posh black engineer trying to be a teacher in an East End school. I also felt that the fears and insecurities of the class as they moved from a safe, childâ??s environment of school out into the adult world werenâ??t highlighted enough.

The pacing is sometimes slow and the reflection of the 1960â??s standards seemed much more a middle class idea (marriage is forever, etc) than the working classs would have felt at the time. One scene in particular always annoys me. When the teacher loses his temper and explodes, the viewer doesnâ??t really know why. We know that something has been burnt and we know its something to do wit hthe girls in the class but thatâ??s it. In the book its fully explained and the reasons for his revulsion and anger are obvious, but in the movie it doesnâ??t make sense.

Sidney Poitier tries hard but, to me, doesnâ??t come across that well as the engineer/teacher. The other members of staff, except for Gillian, are pretty much ignored and when they do appear seem to be completely defeated. The best bit is seeing Patricia Routledge as a youngster. All in all, a bit of a disappointment that looks rather dated now.