In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes u... Read allIn 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.In 1921, England is overwhelmed by the loss and grief of World War I. Hoax exposer Florence Cathcart visits a boarding school to explain sightings of a child ghost. Everything she believes unravels as the 'missing' begin to show themselves.
- Awards
- 4 wins & 2 nominations
- Director
- Writers
- All cast & crew
- Production, box office & more at IMDbPro
Storyline
Did you know
- TriviaThe painting, of two women killing a man, that is said to be the boys' favourite, is titled "Judith beheading Holofernes" and was painted in 1612 by Italian artist Artemisia Gentileschi (1593-1652).
- GoofsWhen Florence went into the hidden compartment and found the stuffed rabbit, the rabbit played a recorded song. At this point in history, toys only contained small music boxes, which played chiming music. The closest thing was the "Lioretgraph Jumeau" which sang a maximum of 35 words using a small phonograph. More advanced singing toys didn't make their appearance until the late 1930's and early 40's.
- Quotes
[last lines]
Florence Cathcart: Not seeing them, it's not the same as forgetting. Is it?
- Crazy credits[opening title] Observation: Between 1914 and 1919, war and influenza claimed more than a million lives in Britain alone. Conclusion: This is a time for ghosts. Florence Cathcart "Seeing Through Ghosts" p7
- ConnectionsFeatured in The Big Picture: November 2011 (2011)
- SoundtracksFinlandia Hymn - Be Still My Soul
Written by Jean Sibelius, Katharina A. von Schlegel
Performed by Michael Csányi-Wills, Jeff Moore, Andrew Skeet
"The Awakening" is set in 1921 England, our Protagonist Florence Cathcart a free thinking, strong willed ghost buster, author and hoax crusher opens this gem of a movie by diving right into the fray. Mediums, psychics and séances' were all the rage during that time period, which began with the religion of spiritualism. Spiritualism developed and reached its peak growth in the 1840's to the 1920's. With many patrons from the Aristocratic and famous class, like Abraham Lincoln joining his wife for a séance after the death of their young son. After WWI many bereaved souls were searching for a connection to loved ones lost either from deadly illness or the horrors of war and were further victimized by unscrupulous charlatans seeking only coin and selling false hope. Florence's main objective is to put a stop to this and shed light and truth on the subject of death, the afterlife and ghosts. But after being invited to a supposedly haunted old grand estate that was converted into a boy's boarding school, with a recent death of a student and a rumor of an old murder and sightings of a ghost, Florence finds much more than school boy pranks and hoaxes - she finds something good, something frightening and something truly enlightening.
The character development in "The Awakening" is done perfectly with solid performances from the entire cast. The cinematography is excellent as is the entire production tip to tail. From sets and wardrobe to the musical score. The research done for the story and time period is what really brings this ghost story to life. It's the small details and creepy little surprises that all add to the reality of the time this story is told and the ensuing mystery. I must also comment on the pacing - this movie wasted no time, it's no action packed, a scare a minute kind of movie, it's far more subtle, but it's never slow or boring and nothing is wasted.
As a true horror/suspense connoisseur (I have a degree in film production and I was a make-up artist/Stylist for print, film and T.V. for 12 years.) I'd like to comment on some of the cynical and negative reviews. One cannot simply lump all horror and suspense films together. There are many subsets of the genre (Slasher, Grind House, Mystery, Supernatural, Creature, Occult, Gothic..etc.)and each has it's own flavor so to speak. You cannot compare a movie like "A nightmare on Elm street" to "The Changeling". Though they are both considered to be horror, one is supernatural slasher and the other is classic ghost story. Even when comparing movies in the same subset like "The house on haunted hill" with "The Haunting" both of which have remakes, have huge differences, usually found in the details and presentation and should be considered unique in their own right. While it may be true that there is nothing new under the sun and we've all seen the same plots and themes over and over again - I have found there is always something new to add to the age old themes.
This movie is in my top 10 of great ghost stories - 8 out of 10 stars for "The Awakening".
- robin-72-718219
- Feb 2, 2013
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Details
- Release date
- Country of origin
- Official sites
- Languages
- Also known as
- Tỉnh Giấc
- Filming locations
- Lyme Park, Disley, Stockport, Cheshire, England, UK(on location)
- Production companies
- See more company credits at IMDbPro
Box office
- Budget
- £3,000,000 (estimated)
- Gross US & Canada
- $209,696
- Opening weekend US & Canada
- $95,933
- Aug 19, 2012
- Gross worldwide
- $6,879,667
- Runtime1 hour 42 minutes
- Color
- Sound mix
- Aspect ratio
- 2.35 : 1
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