Morning:
10°c
Derek Malcolm's rating
Scoring high on feelgood factor
By
Derek Malcolm
2 Nov 2006
It's the year England won the World Cup, and poor Bernie (Gregg Sulkin) has his all-important Bar Mitzvah on the day of the final. He prays to God that England are not involved because, if they are, hardly anyone will come to his party.
Nicely directed by Paul Weiland, there are some good period touches and an excellent cast (including Helena Bonham Carter as an anxious Jewish mum) and the kind of Yiddish humour that seems permanently to flirt with pessimism.
But the film suffers from the obvious fact that the Bar Mitzvah date could easily have been changed, even though it didn't look at first as if Alf Ramsey's team was likely to win.
There is also an absurd feelgood ending which involves Dad (Eddie Marsan) and the boy driving helter-skelter to Wembley and actually finding a place first in the car park and then on the terraces for the extra time shoot-out with Germany. A likely story.
Details are correct at the time of publication - please check with venue before booking.
Reader views (2)
Sixty Six is a real feel good movie, nostalgic in all the right ways. You'll probably get a few grumps who didn't like it and thought it was rubbish but not me. The actors were all great and were truly believable and the costumes and sets were equally so.
Would see it again in a heartbeat.
- Elly, Tower Hill, 14/11/2006 16:52
Report abuse
If you liked John Boorman's HOPE AND GLORY, you'll love this. Boorman based his movie on his memories of the Blitz, and in turn SIXTY SIX's director Paul Weiland draws on his own experience of his fated Bar Mitzvah on the afternoon of July 30 1966 - the day of the England/Germany final.
The result is laugh-out-loud funny and achingly touching.
Weiland. through no fault of his own, hasn't had a sparkling career on the big screen - which is a great shame. He's an award-winning commercials director of many years standing, helming some of the country's best-loved ads.
SIXTY SIX deserves to be seen and loved just as much.
- John Donnelly, London, England, 07/11/2006 07:11
Report abuse
