We got the first UK trailer for Oranges and Sunshine, director Jim Loach’s feature debut, back in February ahead of its April release here, and it was incredibly touching.
The film’s release in the US is not until next month, and so we now have a new US trailer to enjoy, courtesy of Thompson on Hollywood, before it comes out in time for the awards season next year.
“Synopsis: Oranges and Sunshine tells the story of Margaret Humphreys, a social worker from Nottingham who uncovered one of the most significant social scandals of recent times: the deportation of thousands of children from the United Kingdom to Australia.
Almost single-handedly, against overwhelming odds and with little regard for her own well-being, Margaret reunited thousands of families, brought authorities to account and drew worldwide attention to an extraordinary miscarriage of justice. Children as young as four had been told that their parents were dead, and been sent to children’s homes on the other side of the world. Many were subjected to appalling abuse. They were promised oranges and sunshine: they got hard labour and life in institutions.”
The film is based on a true story, with Rona Munro adapting Humphreys’ memoir, Empty Cradle, for director Jim Loach, son of renowned Irish director Ken Loach. His father’s talent has been very well recognised, winning the Palme d’Or at Cannes in 2006 for his film, The Wind that Shakes the Barley. It looks like it’s now his son’s turn to impress, with Oranges and Sunshine being very well received already. It’s been produced by Camilla Bray, Iain Canning, and Emile Sherman, the last two of which are Oscar winner for their producing roles on The King’s Speech. That was a film that did incredibly well in America, winning four Academy Awards earlier this year, so here’s to hoping some of that success will rub off on Oranges and Sunshine.
Emily Watson (Angela’s Ashes) leads in what looks like a brilliant performance from her, with Hugo Weaving (The Lord of the Rings) and David Wenham (The Lord of the Rings) supporting. I personally think our own UK trailer is slightly better than this new US version, but it is nonetheless a brilliant trailer that gives us a great feel for the film. I really regret missing this when it came out back in April, but thankfully it has already been released here on DVD, so if you missed it too, it shouldn’t be too difficult to get hold of if you like what you see.
[yframe url=’http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FJvlEazi8fo’]
