Ring Of Bright Water

It is funny what you remember, the last time I watched this film before rewatching it on sunday night, was on a television which had a busted RF socket. This was from plugging in and removing the ZX spectrum 128K too much. I had fixed up (with a lot of solder) a crude way of connecting the aerial - which sometimes worked.

Though it had been a long time since I saw the film, it was a film I remembered fondly and for sometime I have been meaning to re-watch it.

The film is based on the life of Gavin Maxwell, who was a scottish naturalist and author who worked with otters. The film stars Bill Travers and Virginia Mckenna, and whilst made in 1969 it hasn't aged badly at all. Indeed, some of the busy London street shots, with the black cabs, could of been shot yesterday.

The main star of the film is Mij the otter,who is bought by Graham Merril(Bill Travers) in a London pet shop. After Mij creates havoc in Graham's London flat, they head (both escaping) to a rustic cottage on the west coast of Scotland.

At the cottage, against a backdrop of fantastic scenery, Graham makes acquaintance with Dr.Mary, and Mij makes acquaintance with Johnny - Dr.Marys Dog. The story then begins to unfold.

I had a quick look at some other reviews for the film before writing this, and a couple mentioned the film suffered from "romanticism" well, pfffffft. No its not a serious documentary, nor is it packed with CGI and action shots. It is a film where we get to watch a delightful (real) Otter for a good hour and a half and enjoy his escapades as both him and his owner, find freedom. If it is indeed an act to indulge such suffering, then you better lock us up with the rest of the romantics.

The scene in the aftermath of the ferocious attempt at capturing a basking shark is probably what I had remembered most originally, and it lost no charm watching again.

The film does have a sad happy ending, but that should not put you off. A great film for a rainy day.

Ring of Bright Water - Amazon Link