Drama
British
1996 · Directed by Mike Leigh · 142 min
Hortense, a young optometrist in London, sets out to trace her birth mother after her adoptive mother dies. The search leads somewhere she does not expect. Mike Leigh's drama is warm, funny and painful in turn, and rooted in ordinary lives.
Why it matters in cinema history
A defining film of 1990s British social realism, and the peak of Leigh's long tradition of improvised, rehearsal-built drama that began in theatre and television.
Watch with intention
Watch it as a study of how people talk around what matters, and how much the actors reveal in the gaps.
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