Oranges and Sunshine

by Rebecca Bermingham


This is a brilliant adaptation film which is out on DVD at the minute! I wrote this review for meg.ie and it can be viewed here on their website.

pic: www.goodfilmguide.co.uk

Oranges and Sunshine is the harrowing true story of one of the most significant social scandals of recent times. Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham, blew the whistle on the British government programme of “home children” which saw the systematic relocation of disadvantaged British children, often without their parents’ knowledge. Between the 1930s and 1970s, one hundred and thirty thousand children were told their parents were dead or had abandoned them, largely because it was cheaper to home the children in other members of the Commonwealth such as Canada and Australia. Humphreys selflessly devoted her life to reuniting the families torn apart by this tragedy, showing total dedication and genuine care to the people deprived of their identity.

Budding feature director Jim Loach, son of Ken Loach of Palme d’Or winningWind That Shakes The Barley fame, takes a brave leap into the domain of feature films exploring this long concealed scheme. An adaptation of Humphreys’ 1994, Empty Cradles, the film tells the story in a rousing style that inspires but also disturbs the audience with its grim truth. Beginning in 1987 when the devastation first came to Humphreys’ attention,Oranges and Sunshine is told in a very clear-cut, simple style. In a way, this makes the horrors the young children faced all the more chilling. The slow pace of the film strings you along with curiosity, leaving you guessing about any reconcilation, acceptance or closure after a lifetime of lies. As the film progresses and the scale of the abuse comes to light, confusion sets in as to how such a atrocity could happen.

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Heart-wrenching archival footage of the children arriving in Australia is included which leaves a deep impression long after you leave the theatre and an unsettling feeling of grief for their affliction. But Oranges and Sunshine concludes with an update on Humphreys and some of the thousands of victims whose identities she reclaimed. Loach took on a great responsibility to both Margaret, who is still continuing her work, and to the people who suffered this great injustice, one that he portrayed with realism and honesty. A true eye opener.