Ring of Bright Water
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DVD details
Actor: Bill Travers, Helena Gloag, Jameson Clark, Peter Jeffrey, Virginia McKennaBrand: MGM
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); French (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 1.66:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2004-04-06
Audience Rating: G (General Audience)
Studio: MGM (Video & DVD)
DVD Reviews of Ring of Bright Water
DVD Review: Adorable Otter; Horrible Ending
Summary: 4 Stars
I recently saw this DVD on the sale rack at my local grocery store. The adorable picture of the otter on the cover caught my eye right away, and the description on the back cover spoke of fun and frolic and friendship and adventure. I thought it sounded like an uplifting movie about the love people share with companion animals (a subject for which I've always held strong affection since I've always been a nature and animal lover). So I bought the DVD and looked forward to watching the movie at home.
The opening segment is slow, but maybe that was done intentionally to covey the tedium of Graham's job and routine, and to establish the foundation of how his life is ripe for a change.
The otter, Mij, is adorable and enchanting from the very first moment he appears onscreen.
The movie really takes flight when Graham leaves his tedious job and big city life in London, and relocates to the stunning beauty of coastal Scotland. Mij blossoms in a natural environment, and the bond between Mij and Graham grows very strong. The shots of the otter frolicking in nature are easily the best of the whole film, and the cinematography of the Scottish highlands and shimmering seascapes is magnificent.
The relationship between Graham and Dr. Mary MacKenzie is handled beautifully. Their friendship blooms into love, and their love is enacted onscreen in a refreshingly subtle manner. And the friendship between Mij and the doctor's dog, Johnny, is very charming.
**Plot Spoiler**
So after all the enchantment of the animals, nature scenery, and the blossoming love between Graham and the doctor described above, imagine the surprise and utter shock when, as Mij and Johnny are playing and chasing each other through the grass and along the road on their way back home, Mij is suddenly, shockingly, brutally bludgeoned to death by an extremely ignorant ditch-digger. I don't know if it's possible to describe how unprepared we as the viewers are for what happens to Mij, nor the shock over the senselessness of it. I was completely appalled by the atrocity and brutality of it. Nothing on the packaging or advertising, nor anything in the movie up to that point, had even hinted at this. One minute Mij and his best friend are playing happily; the next Mij is brutally, senselessly, horribly murdered. It happens so suddenly I almost couldn't even believe it. And I couldn't stop crying for almost an hour afterwards.
I suppose this was done as a commentary on the ignorance of people who don't understand the love, companionship, and dignity of companion animals/pets. To that end, it certainly was effective (too effective, in my personal opinion). But for the pure cinematic value of this story, and perhaps because the film's leading actor and actress were also the leads of "Born Free," I as the viewer had been watching and somewhat anticipating that the movie might build to a conclusion where perhaps Mij is released into the wild to live as a free otter. The scene where Mij encounters a female otter on the beach almost seemed to hint at such a possibility. When the movie ended with a female otter following her 3 baby otters as they instinctively headed to the pool in the stream where Mij used to swim (and where Mij seemed to be his happiest), and the beautiful ballad played during the credits as the exquisitely-filmed scenes of the otters at play in the water continued, there was a bittersweetness to see Mij's babies following in their father's behavior, but knowing that Mij himself never got to see his children, and also that Graham wouldn't be able to have the same bond with them (the scene where Graham sees an otter emerge from the water, and calls out "Mij!" but gets no response from the otter confirms that Mij is truly gone). But Mij's life was not in vain since he was loved, happy, and fathered beautiful babies. In his short life, Mij brought much life and love to live on in all around him.
I still give this movie 4 out of 5 stars, only taking off the 5th star due to the brutality of Mij's killing as described above. Animal and nature lovers will still enjoy the wonderful scenes of Mij at play, and the beauty of the Scottish seascape. Just be sure to watch this movie with a box of tissues close at hand.
**Update**
After writing this review, I began to research this film, and the book it was based on, and I learned that sadly this was a true story and that the real Mij was indeed killed just as depicted in the movie. While I now understand that this means they had to include this heartbreaking episode in the film, it also makes the tragedy that much greater to know it really happened in real life. Mij was adopted in 1956 and killed in 1957... yet he is immortalized forever in the book by the author who adopted and loved him, and in this movie, and also in the memorial statue of the real Mij on the beautiful Scottish seashores where he frolicked. Thank you, Mij, for teaching us all about love and pure joy... in your too-short time here on earth, you managed to leave a legacy that will live forever. God rest your sweet soul.
Description of Ring of Bright Water
Features include:
?MPAA Rating: G
?Format: DVD
?Runtime: 107 minutes
Coincidence throws Mij the otter and Graham Merrill (Bill Travers) the computer worker together on a busy London street. What transpires from this chance meeting is an epiphany that leads to the complete upheaval of Graham's life. Evicted from his city flat thanks to the antics of his newly acquired, mischievous otter, Graham embarks on a train journey to the Scottish Highlands. Suffice it to say that trying to smuggle Mij onboard as a "diving terrier" is not successful. When the pair finally arrives in Scotland, they fall in love with the countryside and a dilapidated cottage by the sea. Fate introduces Graham to the town's animal-loving doctor (Virginia McKenna), and an enduring friendship and romance are forged. The photography of both the Scottish Highlands and the antics of Mij the otter in this 1969 movie are truly wonderful--it might just make you reconsider your current digs and friendships. The story (based on Gavin Maxwell's book of the same name) is somewhat formulaic and dated by its romanticism, but enjoyable nonetheless. Slip into an ideal world of simple happiness and celebrate the cyclical nature of life, if only for 106 minutes. (Ages 5 and older) --Tami Horiuchi
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