James Mitchell Movies

In My Father's Den (2005), a universally acclaimed New Zealand feature, swept over 15 international honors and virtually owned the 2005 New Zealand Film Awards. This intelligently crafted, penetrating drama travels in the footsteps of such masterpieces as The Myth of Fingerprints, In the Bedroom, and The Son's Room by detailing an indigenous, scarred family's attempt to heal from age-old wounds. The haunting story begins with war journalist Paul (Matthew MacFadyen), who returns to his childhood home to bury his father. Although few words are spoken, the pain and resentment of past traumas continue to sear and burn in Paul's mind, and become rapidly evident via Paul's struggles to interact normally with his brother (Colin Moy) and eerily laconic sister-in-law (the celebrated Miranda Otto). Upon moving into a local cottage, Paul feels somewhat validated and encouraged when he inadvertently (and innocently) befriends a teenager, Celia (Emily Barclay), an intelligent girl with a love of books who starts to borrow volumes from Paul's personal library; they share a distaste for the community and its people, and a difficulty with social adjustment. But when Celia goes missing, and all fingers in the narrow-minded, gossip-ridden small town point in Paul's direction, the bough starts to break for the young man. In an effort to clear the accusations, Paul starts an informal investigation, from which the unspoken secrets of his family's past and the mystery of Celia's absence will ultimately dovetail into a tragic discovery. ~ Nathan Southern, Rovi

U.K. filmmaker Marc Evans directs the psychological thriller Trauma, produced for the Ministry of Fear division of Little Bird Productions. Colin Firth stars as Ben, a man who wakes up from a coma to discover his wife, Elisa (Naomie Harris), has been killed in a car crash. He tries to start a new life on his own, but he's haunted by images of his wife and strange happenings in his apartment. Having no family connections left, he reunites with old friend Tommy (Tommy Flanagan). He also makes friends with neighbor Charlotte (Mena Suvari), who takes him to psychic Petra (Brenda Fricker). Trauma premiered at the Sundance Film Festival in 2004. ~ Andrea LeVasseur, Rovi

This video is volume one in a five-part series that chronicles the history of Ireland and the migrations that have taken Irish emigrants to all points in the world. In this episode, the focus is on the forces at work in Ireland that resulted in the mass migration of many of its inhabitants to England, southern Europe, and America. Chief among these factors was the potato famine of 1846-1850, which forever changed the history of Ireland. Subsistence farmers were devastated by the potato blight that destroyed the single-crop economy. Unable to pay their land rent to Protestant English landowners, farmers were forced off the land. Hardship and starvation were prevalent -- one million people died before the English sent relief to Ireland in 1860. By then, many Irish people had migrated to other countries in search of a better life. This video follows their story, from the deadly "coffin ships" that took the Irish to America, to the hard life that awaited them in other lands. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi

The fifth and final segment of The Irish Empire confronts modern Ireland and how it differs from the country preserved in emigrant dreams and passed down through generations until "Ireland" became a mythical place to the descendants of those who left their native land. Director Alan Gilsenan provides images of a busy Irish highway, an urbanized Ireland of microchip factories and wine bars, and then examines the expectations and ideas held about Ireland by emigrants living in countries such as Australia and the United States. Highlights include footage of the 1998 Irish-American Rose of Tralee festival in New Orleans, an interview with Shane McGowan (founder of the band the Pogues) concerning the bitterness of Irish natives who have to move to England to find work, and an examination of how the mythology of Ireland as "a pastoral 'never never' land" and "a Celtic Disneyland" has affected even those who live in Ireland. Ultimately the program postulates that in today's world of mass communications and jet travel, Irish identity has of necessity become an "expandable ethnic identity" related more to a culture than a particular piece of land. Narrated by Irish actress Fiona Shaw (My Left Foot, The Last September). ~ Steve Blackburn, Rovi

This documentary is part three in a five-part series that follows the story of the Irish emigrant. The Irish potato famine of 1856-1860 killed a million people and displaced a million more. Many sought a better life in new lands, such as Europe and America. This episode of the series looks at the special role of women in the culture. Agrarian society and the Irish faith placed many constraints on the hard-working Irish women. These, and other factors, are examined, using archival film footage, photographs, and interviews. ~ Rose of Sharon Winter, Rovi

A man finds his personal and professional loyalties divides by his new career at a casino in this crime drama. Jack Manfred (Clive Owen) is a cocky, supremely confident man who wants to be a writer. Jack's long struggle to finish his first novel has landed him deep in debt, and his father (Nicholas Ball) volunteers to get him a job in a casino in London. While Jack doesn't gamble himself, he has the dexterity (and enough contempt for the game) to be a good dealer. He's soon making a tidy living as a dealer, despite the objections of his girlfriend, Marion (Gina McKee), who thinks his job is taking him away from his true calling as a writer. Against the orders of his boss, Jack has a fling with Bella (Kate Hardie), another dealer at the casino, and allows himself to be seduced by one of his customers, Jani (Alex Kingston). However, it turns out Jani wants more than sex from Jack; she and her compatriots have a plan to rob the casino and they want Jack to be their man on the inside. Croupier was directed by Mike Hodges, whose first film was the classic British thriller Get Carter. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

This drama, set during WWII, was co-written by acclaimed playwright George Tabori and features the writer as both narrator and an observer during the filming of incidents from his mother's life. Elsa Tabori (Pauline Collins) is a polite and dignified woman who believes that if you do as you're told, things will work out for you. However, she lives in Budapest in the midst of Nazi occupation, and Elsa's optimism hardly seems practical when one is forced to wear a yellow Star of David. When Elsa witnesses the grim fate of Maria (Natalie Morse), a gentile who made the mistake of visiting a Jewish friend as the police were rounding up victims to be shipped to a concentration camp, she discovers that cooperation is no guarantee of safety -- and that she must find a way to save herself before she's sent to her death. Fate, however, soon intercedes in an unexpected display of benevolence. This was director Michael Verhoeven's third film concerning the holocaust in Europe, following Das Schreckliche Madchen and Eine Unheilige Liebe. ~ Mark Deming, Rovi

A middle-aged Irish bus conductor with a passion for the writings of Oscar Wilde causes controversy when he attempts to stage Wilde's Salome in this period drama set in early 1960s Dublin. Alfie Byrne (Albert Finney) is a well-liked local figure, a life-long bachelor who charms his bus passengers with dramatic recitations of Wilde's poetry. One day, he spots a beautiful young woman named Adele (Tara Fitzgerald) who inspires him to attempt to stage Salome with her as the title character. Wilde's play inspires outrage amongst the more conservative members of the community, who attempt to shut Alfie down. Rather than giving in, however, Alfie chooses to be true to himself, a decision that forces him to face his true self, particularly his feelings towards his young, handsome co-worker Robbie Fay (Rufus Sewell). ~ Judd Blaise, Rovi

Anzacs: The War Down Under is a two-part Australian TV movie dramatizing the activities of the Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZAC). This all-volunteer outfit fought shoulder to shoulder with enlisted men during the First World War. The film concentrates on three Anzacs: An aristocrat (Andrew Clarke), his best friend (Mark Hembrow) and his friend's sister (Megan Williams). Part One details the training of the volunteers, and their first taste of true combat. Part Two details the further activities of the all-volunteer Australian and New Zealand Army Corps (ANZACS). During the first few months of World War I, aristocratic Anzac Andrew Clarke is wounded, and is urged to go home to convalesce by Megan Williams, the sister of his best friend (Mark Hembrow). Meanwhile, heavy fighting in France has thinned the ranks and battered the morale of the other Anzacs. Featured in the cast as a military man is Paul Hogan. It was Hogan's new-found international stardom in 1986's Crocodile Dundee which sparked the American distribution of Anzacs, two years after its initial 1985 Australian run. The video release is edited from the 10-hour Australian miniseries. ~ Hal Erickson, Rovi

On Christmas Eve, the Yeates have a carriage accident, and unfortunately for them, one of the injured victims is none other than the aptly named Oweneen the Sprat, one of the nasty "mountainy" men living in the hills. On Christmas Day, the Major's household receives a threatening note from the hill-dweller demanding money. To exacerbate matters further, the Major returns home the next day to find that his wife and staff have been terrified by the appearance of a sprat nailed to the door of their home. ~ Rebecca Flint Marx, Rovi