By Peter Harper
I am a sucker for documentaries about films. I love the behind-the-scenes testimonies and funny or bad stories of how it was made. We live in an age where we are given instant special features and behind-the-scenes footage of almost every film that’s released nowadays, but it’s always a thrill when documentaries pop up of films gone by such as classic horror or science fiction. One of my all-time favourite films is the 1973 British Folk-Horror The Wicker Man. I’m fortunate to own the film in every format and have probably watched every documentary and read every article, but was so excited to be given the chance to watch a new documentary based on the cult film, but seen through a completely different perspective that’s never been done or told before.
Children of the Wicker Man looks at the 1973 film from the perspective of director Robin Hardy’s two sons Justin and Dominic. The two team up to investigate how their father’s lifelong obsession with the movie literally ripped the family apart.
After being presented with a bunch of letters from their father the two go on a journey from location to location including the infamous Summerisle, trying to not only unpick what made their father tick and what made him ultimately leave them fatherless and abandon his long-suffering wife.
The documentary sheds light on an obsessive man who sacrifices his family, his children and his home for a film that unfortunately bombed upon its release. It depicts Hardy as sometimes a lonely and stubborn man who would never compromise. He was also an intensely private man. Whilst in production on possibly one of cinema’s greatest ever films, he was crumbling in his private life and unfortunately going bankrupt. All this was happening away from the set in which his wife had to shoulder a lot of the suffering.
During the documentary there are testimonials from cast and crew that unfortunately don’t paint Hardy in the greatest of lights. Especially his relationship with longtime friend and Tony Award Winning playwright Anthony Schaffer who wrote the screenplay for The Wicker Man. The two became bitter towards each other that sadly went to the grave. The stories tell of a chaotic shoot in which Hardy fumbled his way through, but the also glowing highs from the mighty Christopher Lee that always backed Hardy’s vision until the end.
The fabulous thing about this documentary is it doesn’t now spoil the magic of The Wicker Man. I believe it being unorthodox and chaotic just adds to its charm. It was Hardy’s first feature film as director and for all his flaws he definitely caught lightning in a bottle.
The real message behind The Children of the Wicker Man is how this classic film dramatically influenced real people’s lives. The two brothers have suffered intense trauma from childhood with their father’s behaviour. His selfishness to put his creativity before his loved ones will continue to affect them their entire lives.
The film aims to give the brothers an element of closure. For all of Hardy’s faults, the two discover an admiration for the man who truly believed in his creative vision. It didn’t bring him initial success or financial success and he did lose many friends along the way. The question is; was it all worth it? To an audience member and cinema lover we’d all say yes, but to the friends, family and two brothers?
I guess only they can answer that.
Bloody Flicks 