Wonderful character development!

Perfect cast and a good story

A Major Disappointment

It's fun, it's light, [but] it has a hard time when its tries to get heavy.

Every once in a while a comparatively small film made with limited resources comes along which is nevertheless much more effective than any polished product a whole array of artists could put together. "Whistle Down the Wind" is one such example, where a British filmmaker (Bryan Forbes) along with a fine cast of adult actors and kids who basically play themselves delivered an instant classic - at least for British audiences. Unknown to the rest of the word, this children's film for the whole family badly needs re-discovery by movie treasure hunters throughout the world.Based on Mary Hayley Bell's novel, it is her daughter Hayley who plays the lead role in this delightfully fresh parable about faith, hope and the confrontation of preached word vs. actual deed. Seen through the eyes of innocent country children we become witness of the Second Coming of Jesus Christ, only that it's a murderer on the run from the law. Thanks to the unwavering spirituality of the kids he gets entrusted with taking care of a kitten, but is as irritated as his unlikely followers are amazed. Will there be a doubting Thomas, a betraying Judas, a change of heart in... a murderer, or will "Jesus" take advantage of his new powers? The movie works with thought-provoking metaphors, but doesn't need any metaphysical exposition. It is so enthralling due to its simplicity of portraying the potent mix of innocence and the strength of belief. "Whistle Down the Wind" features crisp black and white photography with several evocative visual and musical references to the New Testament and of course the children who ask the right questions. It's one of those movies one might enjoy thoroughly as a kid and learn to appreciate in full as a grown up.

The screenplay for Bryan Forbes' (1961) film - based on Mary Hayley Bell's novel - was one of the earliest successes for northern writers Keith Waterhouse (Billy Liar) and Willis Hall (The Long and the Short and the Tall).Set in the north of England in the fifties, it's a charming tale of innocence told from a child's point of view.As we enter the Bostock family's rural home, the scene is set for a gentle comedy of harmless intrigue.Kathy Bostock (a very young Hayley Mills) turns in a great performance in the film based on her mother's novel. The barn at the Bostock's place becomes refuge to one of the nicest escaped convicts you could ever hope to meet (Alan Bates) who is discovered by the children in an exhausted and collapsed state, laying in the straw.As he comes too, he find himself surrounded by a semi-circle of gawping children, one of whom asks him who he is. More by way of exclamation than information he says two words before lapsing back into unconsciousness. 'Jesus Christ !' For the children, fresh from rehearsals for the school nativity play, it all begins to make sense. A barn.. a manger.. the oxen looking on. They mistakenly conclude that it's the second coming and that they have been specially chosen to host the son of God on this impromptu visit.Doomed to ultimate failure, their endearing efforts to conceal and sustain the scruffy, bearded man they believe they already know so well from Sunday School make the story a poignant testament to a state of grace that is somehow only accessible to the very old and the very young.

"Whistle Down the Wind" is the story of young English children left on their own, their mother dead, their father a busy and distant farmer. Kathy (Hayley Mills) is the eldest of three. Adults in this movie have no time for joy, children, or mysticism. Life is utilitarian. The farmhand throws kittens in the river to drown—Kathy and co. save and hide the kittens in the barn. This sets up the important premise of the movie and maybe in what was a coming revolution in the 1960s—the unspoken battle between the idealistic youth and the unhearing/uncaring establishment.In this picture, the "establishment" are the adults. Resentment, no vision and platitudes are their way of greeting every event—and life seems to be unimportant in the wake of commerce. Maybe in the face of this cold void, the kids, especially Kathy are looking for some outlet—some warmth, some type of Messiah in their lonely world where they have love to give but no adult wants it.Enter the fugitive, "antiestablishment" Alan Bates. Dangerous looking, magnetic, countercultural—he becomes one of the living that Kathy wants to protect when she mistaken believes that he identifies himself as "Jesus Christ". The kids try to care for and hide the Second Coming as they believe Bates to be, from the adults who they perceive to have no hearts left. With deliberate ambiguity, the story explores issues of faith and doubt and really made me ask the question--Is the innocence of children to be cherished or dismissed as out of place with modern cynical society? This movie straddles a thin line of fantasy and gritty poetic realism that was prevalent in Black and white UK 60s cinema.I just loved it as a kid. The scene where "Jesus" is suffering, lying under the hay on the floor as he is stepped on in his concealment will always stay with me. Then when he is led away the way he raises his arms is as if it is a Crucifixion. My crap VHS copy fell apart so I hope it will be out on DVD in the US this side of 2010.

While I was on vacation in England in 1999, I had managed to see Andrew Lloyd Webbers's production of Whistle Down The Wind. I was, to put it simply, completely blown away by it. I loved the the impressive stage work and the the music. Most importantly, though, I adored the story and the characters.I had heard that the musical was based on a movie with the same name, and made a mental note to try to get a copy of it when I went home. It was a very hard movie for me to obtain, but it was absolutely worth the effort and the money I had spent. It's a shame such a gem such as this one is underrated. If you ever get a chance, please don't hesitate to see this classic.