Dafydd Hywel Movies

Set in Wales a few hundred years ago, Rebecca's Daughters stars Paul Rhys as an aristocratic member of the ruling class. Rhys is not happy with the way that the members of his social order, particularly dissipated nobleman Peter O'Toole, are taxing the Welsh peasants into nonexistence. Thus, he decides to become a man of the people-or, more accurately, a woman of the people. Disguising himself as a crusading female named Rebecca, Rhys leads a peasant revolt against the aristocracy. No, of course this isn't meant to be taken seriously. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

Some of the conditions which prompted the development of the United Kingdom's Socialist party (and some radical political movements) are explored in this quasi-biographical historical drama, which goes into the harsh life experienced by one woman who lived and worked in a Welsh coal mining town at the end of the nineteenth and the beginning of the twentieth centuries. In the story, Gwen (Sue Roderick) marries a miner, who is killed in the mines. Death in the mines is common, and the mining companies were not in the habit of paying any kind of compensation to the dead miners' survivors. Desperate for money to survive with, she takes the gruesome job of preparing miner's corpses for burial. Despite a seemingly endless succession of difficulties, Gwen somehow survives to become (as seen at the beginning of the film) "the oldest woman in Great Britain," greeted by the Queen and celebrated in the press. ~ Clarke Fountain, Rovi

A young British soldier stationed in war-torn Northern Ireland kills an Irish rebel in self-defense and finds himself thrown into a hellish ordeal when the very authorities who sanctioned his actions suddenly change and decide to use him as a scapegoat to keep others from making the same mistake in this powerful, provocative British film. Welshman Wil Thomas joins the British army in hopes of escaping the poverty of his hometown and proves to be an honest and dutiful soldier. After the killing he is immediately taken back to England, tried, and, despite his vigorous protestations of innocence, thrown into the brig. There he is brutalized, harassed and denied medical attention. As he continues to fight to prove his innocence and endure the many indignities, the situation leading to his incarceration is presented via flashback. Also chronicled is his brief affair with an Irish Catholic woman who breaks up with him when she realizes that he belongs to the army. He later learns that she paid a horrible price for their relationship. He also reflects upon the orders of his sergeant who gave them permission to use force on the rebels and to defend themselves from attacks. Back in the present, cruel corporal Bernard Latham begins taking a special interest in tormenting Thomas. Still Thomas staunchly refuses to crack. Meanwhile his former sergeant launches a campaign to help his former friend. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi

This provocative film, based on a short story by Dylan Thomas, is set in Wales during the turmoil of WW I. ~ Sandra Brennan, Rovi