BY DOUG OSWALD

Two men find peace and friendship as they uncover a mystery in the Yorkshire countryside. “A Month in the Country” is one of those elegant movies about a bygone era in post Victorian England that has become enormously popular in movies such as those produced by Merchant-Ivory and in TV series like the recent “Downton Abbey.” The exploration of class distinctions and gender roles has been a staple in English drama in movies and TV for decades and the audience appears to always be hungry for more. The likes of Austen, Bronte and Dickens and stores of England through WWII have provided fertile ground for countless tales that continue to fascinate and entertain.  

“A Month in the Country” features early career performances by Colin Firth and Kenneth Branagh. Both actors went on to enormous success and in the case of Branagh, as a successful director, too. Firth and Branagh were born to feature in period pieces like this and they both do an excellent job carrying the movie with believable performances. Natasha Richardson is also on hand and gives an equally excellent performance as the lovely vicar’s wife.

The two central characters, Tom Birkin (Firth) and James Moon (Branagh) are veterans of the latest “war to end all wars”, commonly known as WWI, and suffer from what was then known as “shell-shock” and later “battle fatigue,” (now known as post-traumatic stress syndrome or PTSD), an often misunderstood and misdiagnosed symptom of continuous exposure to the extreme violence of war. Each man is in the small town of Oxgoodby to work, but instead uncover a secret. Birkin is removing the paint and restoring a long forgotten mural in the local church. Moon has been hired to find the ancient grave of a local resident. The secret behind both the painting and the grave are at the center of the story as both men come to terms with their emotional wounds.

The church mural dates to the Middle Ages and a local patron is paying the church for the restoration. The vicar is less than enthusiastic about the scaffolding and feels the mural will be a distraction, but grudgingly allows Birkin to sleep in the belfry while he works on revealing the picture. Moon is more interested in the prospect of locating buried treasures than in finding the grave and both he and Birkin become friends. Moon has his own demons and suffers from nightmares while sleeping in a hole he dug beneath his tent. He tells Birkin it makes him feel safe. Birkin stutters (a precursor to Firth’s “The King’s Speech” stutter) as a consequence of his emotional breakdown. Both men enjoy the solitude and peace of the countryside as they uncover the layers of paint and earth which cover their respective projects. They form a bond with each other and the people of Oxgoodby as they uncover and expose their emotional scars.

Richardson plays Alice Keach, the aforementioned vicar’s wife. Young and beautiful, she seeks out Birkin and brings him apples. Moon suggests the possibility of chemistry between them and the way things usually work in these period stories is that a romance develops. However, this isn’t a story about romance and love affairs. It turns out Birkin is married and has a wife somewhere. Birkin also befriends the local station master Ellerbeck (Jim Carter, the head butler in “Downton Abby”) and his delightful children.

While emotionally scarred, Birkin is also a bit of a jerk and resents that nobody in the town, particularly the vicar who lives in a large empty house with his wife, has invited him for dinner or offered lodging. Just then the station master Ellerbeck’s children, Kathy and Edgar, arrive with food and a gramophone to entertain Birkin as he works. They also invite him for lunch, which he accepts.

Ellerbeck is also a local lay-preacher, the fire and brimstone type, although he’s a friendly and kindly husband, father and friend. He sends Birkin off to his afternoon sermon and Birkin reluctantly agrees. The children accompany Birkin, who attempts his own fire and brimstone sermon, but instead discusses his work in the Oxgoodby church. Afterwards he has dinner with a family who lost a son in the war and later visits a dying girl who is at peace with her illness. All this has an effect on Birkin as he continues working on the mural. Moon discovers the lost grave and the mystery behind the mural and the grave are revealed. As the movie ends a letter arrives for Birkin from his wife and both men depart on new projects, restored to a type of normalcy.

The movie is filled with terrific performances, beautiful scenery, feelings of melancholy, a longing for what could have been and the experience of a life lived. The movie runs a leisurely 96 minutes and includes a wonderful score by Howard Blake. Directed by Pat O’Connor and based on the novel by J.L. Carr, it was released in 1987 and features outstanding location photography.

The Blu-ray features an insightful commentary by Twilight Time regulars Julie Kirgo and Nick Redman who reveal the movie was lost in a sort of movie limbo and remained unseen for decades. Kirgo and Redman are classic movie enthusiasts and listening to them makes you feel like you are in their company. Be sure to watch the movie a second time with the commentary. The disc also features the trailer, isolated music & effects track and a booklet with notes by Kirgo. This is a limited edition of 3,000 units. 

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