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Revision as of 08:00, 8 March 2010
British film| Hedd Wyn | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Directed by | Paul Turner |
| Written by | Alan Llwyd |
| Starring | Huw Garmon |
| Distributed by | S4C |
| Running time | 123 min. |
| Country | UK |
| Languages | Welsh, English |
Hedd Wyn is a 1992 Welsh-language film written by Alan Llwyd and directed by Paul Turner. It won a BAFTA for the best foreign language film in the year of its release. It was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.
The film is a biopic based on the life of the legendary Welsh poet Hedd Wyn (Huw Garmon), who was killed in the First World War and posthumously awarded a Chair and the National Eisteddfod of Wales. The cinematography starkly contrasts the lyrical beauty of the poet's native Meirionnydd with the bombed out horrors of Passchendaele.
Plot
The motion picture opens with the camera panning over a intricate wooden carving on the "Black Chair" of Birkenhead. The voice of the Archdruid Dyfed is heard repeatedly calling for the person who used the nom de plume, "Fleur-de-lis," to stand and be Chaired. The film then flashes back 5 weeks to July 31st, 1917, during the Battle of Passchendaele. Private Ellis Humphrey Evans is mortally wounded by shrapnel in no man's land and is left for hours lying where he fell. As he contemplates what has brought him to this, the film flashes back to 1913. As a young farmer's son in the village of Trawsfynydd, Ellis composes poetry between bouts of alcohol and womanising. When World War I breaks out in 1914, he rejects repeated entreaties to enlist, stating that he doesn't think he can kill anyone. Even his fiancée's accusations of cowardice cannot shake his resolve to stay out of the war. As a result, his engagement ends in an acrimonious split.
In the aftermath, Ellis continues to pursue his dream of winning the National Eisteddfod of Wales. Although the quality of his poetry improves his reputation, he continues to fall short of his goal.
Ultimately, the draft board orders his parents to send one of their sons to join the British Army. Although his seventeen year old brother longs to go instead, Ellis refuses to permit this and enlists in the Royal Welch Fusiliers. Despite the insults showered on them by their English-speaking officers, Ellis and his fellow soldiers continue their training in good spirits and are sent to France.
Realising that it may be his last chance to win the Eisteddfod, Ellis pleads with his commanding officer to send his poem Yr Arwr (The Hero) via the Royal Mail. The English Commander, who is unable to read Welsh, at first refuses to mail the poem, thinking that it could be a coded message to the Germans. As the Fusiliers march toward the Battle of Passchendaele, however, he relents, mails Ellis' submission, and praises his poetic talents.
As the Fusiliers go over the top at Pilckem Ridge, Ellis watches his friends being shot and blown to pieces around him. At last, he is wounded himself and crumples to the ground.
After Ellis is finally evacuated to hospital, he finally succumbs to his injuries. His devastated family receives two telegrams, one which carries news of his death and another which announces that his last poem has won the National Eisteddfod. The award, an intricately carved wooded chair, is delivered to his parents robed in black.
External links
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