The Land Girls (1998)

User Rating:

6.2/10   

Director:

David Leland

Writers:

Angela Huth (novel)
Keith Dewhurst (writer) ...

Release Date:

12 June 1998 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

The story of three young women and the events that would change their lives... The friendships that would stay with them forever... and the loves that would change their hearts.

Plot:

Three young women from very different walks of life join the women's land army during World War II and are sent to work together on a farm in Dorset and the experience changes their lives forever.

Plot Keywords:

Dorset | Pilot | Tractor | Period Piece | Rural

Cast

Catherine McCormack	...	Stella
Rachel Weisz	...	Ag (Agapanthus)
Anna Friel	...	Prue (Prudence)
Steven Mackintosh	...	Joe Lawrence
Tom Georgeson	...	Mr. John Lawrence
Maureen O'Brien	...	Mrs. John Lawrence
Lucy Akhurst	...	Janet
Gerald Down	...	Ratty, Lawrence Farm Hand
Paul Bettany	...	Philip
Nick Mollo	...	Barry Hampton
Michael Mantas	...	Desmond
Nicholas Le Prevost	...	Agricultural Officer
Celia Bannerman	...	District Commissioner
Ann Bell	...	Philip's Mother
Nigel Planer	...	Gerald

Also Known As:

Trois Anglaises en campagne (France)

MPAA:

Rated R for some sexuality.

Runtime:

111 min

Country:

UK | France

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:M | Iceland:L | Netherlands:12 | France:U | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Sweden:11 | Switzerland:12 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:12 (canton of Vaud) | UK:12 | USA:R | Argentina:13

Filming Locations:

Crowcombe Heathfield station, West Somerset Railway, Somerset, England, UK

Company:

Intermedia Films

Trivia:

The Reverend Alan Bennett, seen conducting the christening near the end of the film, is the actual Rector of the church where the scene was filmed.

Goofs:

Anachronisms: In the shot of the train approaching the farmer's son standing on the line, a British Railways insignia is visible on one of the coaches. This was not used until the railways were nationalised in 1948.

Quotes:

Stella: Where's Prue?
[Ag points towards the barn]
Stella: And where's Joe?
[Ag points towards the barn again]
Stella: I should have known.

Soundtrack:

Slow Burn

Not all worked in factories

Whenver I think of women on the home-front during WWII, I picture them in factories taking the place of the men who went to fight. I never really thought that someone had to keep the farms going to feed the people.

Over 30,000 women left the cities in England to form the Land Army and milk the cows and plow the fields while the boys were gone off to fight the Germans.

Having said that, this was basically a Lifetime movie with a couple of laughs. The funniest part was when Ag (Rachel Weisz) decided to lose her virginity.

It was good for a story about the effects of the war on peoples lives, especially their love lives, but there just wasn't a lot there.

Besides Weisz, there was Catherine McCormack (28 Weeks Later) and Anna Friel, who had a bigger WWII role in The War Bride. Of course, we also have to mention Lucy Akhurst, who was a zombie in Shaun of the Dead.

Recommended for Lifetime fans.