Tylluan Wen is a Welsh language

Welsh language

Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...

 film

Film

A film, also called a movie or motion picture, is a series of still or moving images. It is produced by recording photographic images with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects...

 / television

Television

Television is a telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images that can be monochrome or colored, with accompanying sound...

  drama produced in Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

 in 1997 by Ffilmiau'r Nant and dircted by Alun Ffred Jones

Alun Ffred Jones

Alun Ffred Jones is a Welsh politician and member of Plaid Cymru. Jones was the National Assembly for Wales Member for Caernarfon 2003–07 and for the newly created Arfon constituency since the National Assembly for Wales election, 2007....

. It is set in Llan Ffestiniog

Llan Ffestiniog

Llan Ffestiniog, also known as Ffestiniog or simply Llan is a village in Gwynedd , north Wales, lying south of Blaenau Ffestiniog....

, Gwynedd

Gwynedd

Gwynedd is a county in north-west Wales, named after the old Kingdom of Gwynedd. Although the second biggest in terms of geographical area, it is also one of the most sparsely populated...

, as an adaptation of Angharad Jones' novel Y Dylluan Wen (The White Owl). The film is studied as part of the Welsh literature GCSE course.

The village scenes were filmed in Talysarn

Talysarn

Talysarn is a village in the slate quarrying Nantlle Valley in Gwynedd, Wales.The Welsh language poet Robert Williams Parry was born in 37, Station Road, Talysarn, where a plaque designed by R.L. Gapper commemorates the connection. Other persons connected with the village were Annant, quarryman,...

, and scenes are set in Holyhead

Holyhead

Holyhead is the largest town in the county of Anglesey in the North Wales. It is also a major port adjacent to the Irish Sea serving Ireland....

, Blaenau Ffestiniog

Blaenau Ffestiniog

Blaenau Ffestiniog is a town in Gwynedd, north-west Wales. It has a population of 5,000, including Llan Ffestiniog, which makes it the third largest town in Gwynedd, behind Caernarfon & Porthmadog. Although the population reached 12,000 at the peak of the slate industry, the population fell due to...

, and on the Conwy Valley Railway. The "Castell Blodeuwedd

Blodeuwedd

Blodeuwedd or Blodeuedd, , is the wife of Lleu Llaw Gyffes in Welsh mythology, made from the flowers of broom, meadowsweet and the oak by the magicians Math and Gwydion, and is a central figure in the fourth branch of the Mabinogi.-Role in Welsh tradition:The...

" Scene was filmed at Tomen y Mur

Tomen y Mur

Tomen y Mur is a Roman fort complex in Gwynedd, Wales. The fort was constructed under governor Gnaeus Julius Agricola in AD 78, and was abandoned around AD 140. A millennium later, in the Norman period, the site was reoccupied and refortified with a motte within the old walls...

 Roman Fort, Trawsfynydd, near to the coastal town of Porthmadog

Porthmadog

Porthmadog , known locally as "Port", and historically rendered into English as Portmadoc, is a small coastal town and community in the Eifionydd area of Gwynedd, in Wales. Prior to the Local Government Act 1972 it was in the administrative county of Caernarfonshire. The town lies east of...

.

The film was broadcast on the Welsh-language television channel S4C

S4C

S4C , currently branded as S4/C, is a Welsh television channel broadcast from the capital, Cardiff. The first television channel to be aimed specifically at a Welsh-speaking audience, it is the fifth oldest British television channel .The channel - initially broadcast on...

.

Characters and actors

Character	Actor
Martha/Eirlys	Sian James Sian James Sian James may refer to:*Siân James , Welsh author*Sian James , Welsh Labour Member of Parliament who has represented Swansea East since 2005...
Ifor Preis	John Ogwen John Ogwen John Ogwen is a Welsh actor.Best known to British audiences for his starring role in the 1978 drama series Hawkmoor, and appearances in the television series The District Nurse and the Doctor Who serial Revelation of the Daleks, Ogwen has been a stalwart of Welsh language television and film since...
Meri Preis	Betsan Llwyd
Roger	Maldwyn John

Story line

Martha arrives at Blaenau, after travelling from Ireland, and leaving her baby behind. She comes seeking vengeance over her father's death. Ifor Price, she thinks, is responsible for her father's death, and she wants so get revenge on him. She tricks him in to having an affair with her. Her identity is kept hidden until the very end, where her real name is Eirlys, but she gives the false name of Martha. The old school cook, and Roger Price, discover her true identity, but it is too late. She ends up killing Ifor, and in doing so his daughter Gwen, runs to the road, and Martha herself is killed saving Gwen.

Differences in the film and the novel

Some details are changed in the film and in the novel. Changes like not filming in the school, and Martha not coming from America are down to budget costs. Also, The names are changes in the film, Myfi becomes Martha, Ifor Gruffyd becomes Ifor Price. Also, Meri and Ifor have a baby in the film, as there is no play in the film, she has no reason to be in the school, and babysitting seems a good excuse for Martha to spend time around the family. Another thing that has changed is in the novel, Ifor pursued Martha, whereas in the film, Martha seems to be forcing him to go along with the affair.

Another thing is that Martha herself dies in the film, and in the novel she escapes after the murder. The way in which she murders is also different, the film - throwing a harp at Ifor's head, the novel - whipping him to death, obviously this film had to be made suitable for people the ages of 14 and above, as it is on the curriculum for Welsh GCSE students.

The obvious choice of Martha being a singer and not an actress was because of the actress used, Sian James, she is a renowned Welsh singer, therefore the part fits, and fits in with the rest of the changes in the story.

Symbolism

A lot of symbolism is used in this film. We see in the flashbacks of Eirlys being caned, the headmaster wears a cape, and Martha arrives wearing a cape, showing that she is now in control. Later there is a shot of Ifor Price wearing his cape in private, showing how he wants to regain control. In parts where Martha wants to be particularly menacing she wears red.

Throughout the film, close up shot are taken of a sound reel running out, this shows that some purpose of Martha has been achieved. Also, we see that there is a lot of repetitive music in the film, this shows something from the past is repeating itself and its building up tension to some climax at the end.