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August (1996 film)
Encyclopedia
August is a 1996 film starring Anthony Hopkins
as Ieuan Davies, and featuring Rhys Ifans
in a small role in one of his earliest films as Griffiths. It is an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya
, with Ieuan taking over the title role. The film was Hopkins's first feature film with a full cast (he had previously directed the one-man-performance of Dylan Thomas: Return Journey in 1990); his next directorial effort would be Slipstream (2007 film)
in 2007, which he also wrote and for which he also composed the score.
to a turn-of-the-century Welsh setting, emphasizing the hardships of Welsh industrial life in the slate quarries and Welsh-English turmoil as an English professor upsets normal Welsh life when he arrives at the Welsh estate which acts as his vacation home
(at one point Ieuan states that he feels that he has been cheated by the Prof. Blathwaite, just as "the English have always cheated the Welsh").
Anthony Hopkins
Sir Philip Anthony Hopkins, KBE , best known as Anthony Hopkins, is a Welsh actor of film, stage and television...
as Ieuan Davies, and featuring Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans
Rhys Ifans is a Welsh actor and musician. He is known for his portrayal of characters such as Spike in Notting Hill and Jed Parry in Enduring Love and as a member of the Welsh rock groups Super Furry Animals and The Peth. Ifans also appeared as Xenophilius Lovegood in Harry Potter and the Deathly...
in a small role in one of his earliest films as Griffiths. It is an adaptation of Chekhov's Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
, with Ieuan taking over the title role. The film was Hopkins's first feature film with a full cast (he had previously directed the one-man-performance of Dylan Thomas: Return Journey in 1990); his next directorial effort would be Slipstream (2007 film)
Slipstream (2007 film)
Slipstream is a 2007 American science fiction film starring, written, scored, and directed by Anthony Hopkins, which explores the premise of a screen writer who is caught in a slipstream of time, memories, fantasy and reality. The film premiered at the 2007 Sundance Film Festival...
in 2007, which he also wrote and for which he also composed the score.
Adaptation and issues
The film adapts Uncle VanyaUncle Vanya
Uncle Vanya is a play by the Russian playwright Anton Chekhov. It was first published in 1897 and received its Moscow première in 1899 in a production by the Moscow Art Theatre, under the direction of Konstantin Stanislavski....
to a turn-of-the-century Welsh setting, emphasizing the hardships of Welsh industrial life in the slate quarries and Welsh-English turmoil as an English professor upsets normal Welsh life when he arrives at the Welsh estate which acts as his vacation home
Meibion Glyndwr
Meibion Glyndŵr was a Welsh nationalist movement violently opposed to the loss of Welsh culture and language. They were formed in response to the housing crisis precipitated by large numbers of houses being bought by wealthy English people for use as holiday homes, pushing up house prices beyond...
(at one point Ieuan states that he feels that he has been cheated by the Prof. Blathwaite, just as "the English have always cheated the Welsh").
Language
It is primarily in English, with a few lines in Welsh here or there - such as diolch yn fawr iawn ("thank you very much"), cariad (a term of endearment, meaning "love"), and iechyd da ("cheers").See also
- Meibion GlyndŵrMeibion GlyndwrMeibion Glyndŵr was a Welsh nationalist movement violently opposed to the loss of Welsh culture and language. They were formed in response to the housing crisis precipitated by large numbers of houses being bought by wealthy English people for use as holiday homes, pushing up house prices beyond...
, on Welsh-English relations surrounding the English taking vacation homes in Wales. - List of Welsh films