The Secret Garden (1993) Reviews

• An utter delight

  Chessack2001-07-07

  This movie is an utter delight to watch. I have probably seen it a dozen times, and I never get tired of it. Everything about it is perfect: it's well-directed, well-acted, beautifully filmed, has great music, and the script and story are wonderful. Agneiszka Holland does an outstanding job directing this film. Each character is separate and unique; each one has little personality quirks that makes it seem real. Just about every scene in the movie includes children, animals, or both -- which must have been a nightmare to coordinate. Ms. Holland pulls it off without a hitch. Everything melds perfectly, and we are transported to a distant place and time, and fall in love with real, human characters. The primary three characters in this story -- Mary Lennox, Colin Craven, and Dickon -- are all children, played by actors who are around 10 years old. Ordinarily having one child in a movie is difficult enough, but again, somehow they pull it off. All three kids -- especially Kate Maberly -- do a fine job of acting, and they are quite credible. Kate is simply divine as Mary Lennox, and Heydon Prowse was a good counter-point to her as Colin. The story is touching and charming, and I think you'd have to be almost inhuman not to have a tear in your eye by the end of it. I absolutely fell in love with these children, and came to care very much about their characters. The "secret garden" really does seem to be a magical place (and I will say no more about it, since otherwise that would spoil things), and at the end I found myself wishing I could go and visit it first-hand. The accompanying music is wonderful -- I find myself humming it for days and days after watching it. In short, everything comes together to make this film a masterpiece. It is easily one of the 10 or 12 best movies ever made, perhaps *the* best movie ever made. I love it so much that I went out and bought the DVD of it, even though I'd seen it 8 or 10 times already. If you have not seen it I give it my highest possible recommendation. My score: 10/10.

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• Has the rare quality of understanding and enhancing its source

  kingtrio92006-01-16

  The Secret Garden is a rare treat where in the screenwriter and director actually understand their source, The Secret Garden by Frances Hogsden Burnett, and make a translation to the screen that not only captures the essence of the book but enhances the story as well. Too often directors spoil the story with their own self-interested spin (Little Big Man and Chocolat come immediately to mind)but here is a jewel that leaves the viewer saying "That was as good as the book." A genuine triumph. The cast is outstanding, the children in particular, Kate Maberly as Mary Lennox above all. Even to the most minor extra everyone brings a smooth and compelling reality to the story. However, the real star is director Agnieszka Holland. Against a challenging climate ( a rainy location) she manages to create a movie with a touching commentary on how children can literally change the world. Her insightful grasp of the themes of isolation, growth and rejuvenation, the need for a balance between nurture and allowable risk are all managed through the controlling metaphor of a garden. The artful rendering of these literary themes are what many directors apparently find most challenging ( I'm looking at you Arthur Penn)and generally blissfully ignore them compensating by glib insertions, extra action or clumsy sentiment. Not so here. Not only is her focus exemplary but the photography is amazing. The interplay of light and dark, the time elapse photos of clouds rolling and flowers emerging all set to beautiful music captivate the viewer. The rainy weather was not shunned but used to fullest effect. I can only imagine the discipline it must have taken to wait for the sun to peep out from the clouds and then roll film hoping that the cast can pull off the shot before the light changed and a second take became a long wait. Fortunately all are up to the task and the film, the final scene in particular, results in a brilliant piece of motion picture art. The 1993 version of The Secret Garden is a must for every family film collection, one the parents and kids can enjoy for its sophistication or simply for the great way in which this timeless classic is retold.

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• Mesmerizing, beautifully acted family film

  Tommy-921999-08-27

  While I have called The Secret Garden a family film, that doesn't mean it's just for children. It is a film for all ages, and sure to be enjoyed by all of them, too. A vivid and affecting film, it's got many things going for it: mesmerizing cinemetography and time-lapse photography, a good music score and script, breathtaking sets, wonderful direction, great acting, even gorgeous flowers! Agneiska Holland does a great job at bringing out all the subtle little points and details in the story and great performances from her young cast, particularly from Kate Maberly as Mary. Heydon Prowse is good, too, as Colin, and so is Maggie Smith as Mrs. Medlock, the frusterated, overprotective housekeeper who seems to be mean, but really is only doing what she thinks best. One of the few films I've seen that I can call perfect with conviction; definitely should be seen and appreciated.

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• Just as beautiful as the novel

  soda_pop412000-03-25

  This movie is one of my all-time favorite movies. I saw this movie about 5 times. I saw it with my friend on video tape when we were very young. Everything was beautiful - The cast, director's wonderful skills, music and the sight of a pretty garden. The girl who played Mary Lennox pulled out her best performance in this movie, Maggie Smith was as great as ever, the boy who played Collin was the most shining actor in the movie, and Martha was so kind and lovable character. Holland might be one of the most talented directors in the world, I give high points to the art in this movie and the beautiful music which I have listened to until the list of credits ended was so appealing to me. Give 10 out of 10.

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• Beautiful and a classic

  Lady_Targaryen2005-11-29

  'Secret Garden' is a classic to watch anytime you want. The atmosphere in this movie is perfectly portrayed as being sinister and dark and I remember being 8 watching this movie and feeling the oppressive feeling of Lord Craven's mansion. Mary Lennox is a 10 years old English girl who was raised in India. She didn't like to live in India, but the thing she hated the most was the fact that her parents were selfish and never cared about her. One day, an Earthquake in India makes a big devastation and many kids stay orphan,including our lead character Mary Lennox. She is sent to England, to live in her uncle's mansion,since he is now her legal guardian. Mary, which is a cold,bitter,annoying girl who hates to be touched and with lots of angry inside her, meets Martha, a cool girl and servant who works in the mansion and treats Mary very nice( the opposite of Mrs. Medlock,the governess) and her brother Dickon, a sweet boy who makes friendship with the animals. One day,Mary discovers in her aunt's room a key. But it's not an ordinary key, is the key from the secret garden, a garden who once was the place where her aunt always loved to stay and that now is locked since she died. Mary ask Dickons to help her to restore the garden,but they both make it a secret. In the meanwhile, Mary meets her cousin Colin, a sick and spoiled boy who stayed all his life in bed, since everybody always believed he would die very young. It's beautiful to see the changes of Colin and Mary: He learns to be more confident and less pessimist, changing the paranoia of being all the time confined in his bedroom because of 'spores', to go to the garden and try to walk again. And Mary, who once was so bitter, learn how to be a kid and to smile.

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