Solemplex To me, this movie is perfection.

Phonearl Good start, but then it gets ruined

Curt Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

Logan By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

SimonJack Others have described the plot of this film. I just add my praise to that of a few other reviewers who saw much more than the gentle comedy in "The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill …" The movie was filmed in Wales, and gives us some nice scenic shots of the countryside, with the mountain/hill. But much of the enjoyment of this film is in the character studies. It so nicely gives us a look at several people and their "Welshness." I can't say how folks from Wales may like the depictions; but they are curious, warm, friendly, and very real people shown in this film. All the acting is first-rate. Colm Meany and Kenneth Griffith play wonderfully off each other as pub-owner Morgan the Goat and Reverend Jones, respectively. Hugh Grant is very good in one of his most laid back comedy roles – here as a naturally shy young veteran from WW I. Tara Fitzgerald is very good as Betty. The rest of the cast make up a wonderful variety of different, if not eccentric, characters. This is not a comedy of rip-roaring laughter. It isn't loaded with sight-gags, or witty one-liners. There are a few clever lines, but the comedy of this film is in the everyday lives of the people of this Welsh community, and in the cunning to rouse the community to deal with a mountain of a problem. It is a very clean film, suitable for all ages and audiences. As many others have noted, it's a comedy of warmth that makes one feel good at its end. This film isn't for modern movie-goers who must have a constant flow of adrenalin. Or maybe it is – to help slow them down so they can learn to smell the roses along the way. Regarding the town's problem, it's interesting that there don't seem to be any real set standards for designation of mountains versus hills. The sources I checked seem to agree that the difference is more in the degree of steepness, rather than actual height. Funny though, that the 1,000-foot mark of distinction seemed to come from the U.S., where the British favored more a 2,000-foot mark. The outside scenes of this movie were filmed at Gyrn Moelfre, a hill or mountain in northeast Wales near the border with England. It has an elevation of 1,716 feet above sea level. But it rises just 778 feet above the surrounding terrain. The movie shows people climbing the hill on a trail with switchbacks. Indeed, climbing any hill of good size gives one the "feel" of having scaled a small mountain.The story came from one that director Christopher Monger heard from his grandfather about the village of Ffynnon Taf (Taff's Well), and it's nearby mountain/hill, Ffynnon Garw (Garth Hill). It's located just a few miles north of Cardiff. But because of modern growth, the movie was filmed further away in the middle of Wales near Liansilin.

henry-kawa I have been talking about this movie for YEARS. Unforgettable. This is absolutely the most boring movie I have ever seen and WILL ever see. There is no chance than any movie ever made again can possibly be as boring. I use this movie as a bench mark for comparing other bad movies. Example> "At least that bad movie is not as bad as he went up a hill and came down a mountain". - I have been talking about this movie for YEARS. Unforgettable. This is absolutely the most boring movie I have ever seen and WILL ever see. There is no chance than any movie ever made again can possibly be as boring. I use this movie as a bench mark for comparing other bad movies. Example> "At least that bad movie is not as bad as he went up a hill and came down a mountain".

Ben Larson I am continuing my day of Tara Fitzgerald with an old favorite. That is because I am also a huge Hugh Grant fan, ever since Four Weddings and a Funeral. This is his first film since then.My Tara adventure has taken me to England and Ireland, and now Wales, and a quaint village. The villagers, who are proud to live in the shadow of Ffynnon Garw. the "First Mountain in Wales", are determined to thwart the efforts of the English cartographers to turn it into a "hill."Most of the people in this village, except for the lovely Tara Fitzgerald as Betty, are a bit daft. The local Reverend (Kenneth Griffith) is hilarious, and Colm Meaney is the irreverent Welsh opportunist. Assorted characters like Johnny Shellshocked, Williams the Petroleum, Tommy Twostroke, and the Twp brothers add to the excitement.It is Meaney's plan to employ Tara Fitzgerald as the means to keep Grand and his partner in town until thy can add twenty feet to the mountain that really makes the film worthwhile.

DAVID SIM The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is a film that reminds me of The Dish. These are two films that are charming and even modest. Qualities you don't usually find in the Hollywood mainstream nowadays. Another similarity they share is that they both feature monumental events that happen to rural, smalltown folk, and they're directed by natives to they're respective areas. In this film's case, Wales.Set in 1917, in the town of Ffynnon Garw (Welsh names are the worst!), two cartographers Reginald Anson and George Garrad (Hugh Grant and Ian McNeice) pay a visit to survey the land. Their primary interest is to measure the town's local mountain, something the townspeople take great pride in. But they're in for a rude awakening when Anson & Garrad discover they're 'mountain' is not a mountain at all. Just a really large hill.A mountain has to be at least 1000 feet. Ffynnon Garw's hill measures up to 980 feet tops. So its a big hill to be sure. But its still just a hill. The townspeople are devastated to learn this. So they set a plan in motion. Morgan the Goat (Colm Meaney), the town's local barkeep rallies the people together to build an extra mound on top of their hill, and turn it into a mountain.TEWWUAHBCDAM is a film of simple pleasures. But that's where its appeal lies. These people are so incensed by this apparent loss to their culture that they're prepared to bend the rules to restore their former glory. And who wouldn't love the film's idea of transforming a hill into a mountain by just going that little extra distance?The building of the mountain becomes a unifying force for the town and a newfound symbol of hope. Especially since these people have lost a lot of their self-esteem and drive because of WW1. But this new project brings them together and helps them to get back a lot of their faith in themselves. And director Christopher Monger puts these points across without hammering them home.Hugh Grant is not one of my favourite actors in the world. I personally think he's an annoyingly pretentious performer. The only time he's ever watchable is when he's served by an engaging storyline or a witty screenplay. And this film happens to be one of them. He basically falls into his standard, one-note style of acting throughout. In other words, bumbling, foppish and stammering. But at least the intensely likable storytelling allows his character to prevail, despite Grant's shortcomings as an actor.The supporting cast are quite a different kettle of fish. They're all wonderful, and they all have something to add.Colm Meaney's Morgan is my favourite of all the townsfolk. His character is interesting because he swings between ambiguous extremes. Someone who is on the one hand a concerned member of the community, and on the other a self-serving huckster prepared to use the town's dilemma to profit from it. Its a well written part, and well played too by the underrated Colm Meaney.This being a Hugh Grant film, there has to be a love interest for him. And Tara Fitzgerald is superb as Betty from Cardiff. She's not only here as a romantic love interest, but her role is tied into the plot too. She's there to keep Anson distracted while the townsfolk build they're mountain. She'll keep him from leaving town, and when the mountain is ready, he can re-measure it, and put things to rights.Tara Fitzgerald may be a little too modern for a Welsh lass of 1917, but I liked her spirited, twinkly eyed flirtatiousness. Her relationship with Grant is never more than amiable, but she's so appealing in the role, you really are convinced that Anson would be prepared to settle down with her. I know I would!Monger adds the occasional hindrance to increase tension. Such as a torrential downpour that could make short work of the townspeople's hard work. But that all comes with the territory. And the final scene. Where the town vicar passes away on the hill, and his buried earth is used to complete the mountain is clever and moving too.The question of whether or not they'll finish they're mountain is hardly a mystery. But did you really want anything less? Complimented by a lovely lyrical musical score, The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill But Came Down a Mountain is a gently amusing unappreciated treat, and one of the few gracious films to be seen on TV nowadays.