As an Eilean

1993
PG
1h 36m

IMDb RATING

YOUR RATING

Student Callum takes French lessons from ex-headmaster McAllister on a Scottish isle. McAllister photographs local life, including a nurse's wedding, while Callum readies for university.Student Callum takes French lessons from ex-headmaster McAllister on a Scottish isle. McAllister photographs local life, including a nurse's wedding, while Callum readies for university.Student Callum takes French lessons from ex-headmaster McAllister on a Scottish isle. McAllister photographs local life, including a nurse's wedding, while Callum readies for university.

See production info at IMDbPro

IMDb RATING

6.2/10

YOUR RATING

4User reviews

See production info at IMDbPro

Awards
- 1 nomination total

User reviews4

Featured review

9/10

Quiet and Beautiful

This film won't be for everyone, it is very slow and exactly what you might expect the going-ons in a remote Scottish village to be. Nevertheless, there is something unique and incredibly thoughtful in this film, and the dynamics between characters are demonstrated elegantly in practically every shot, which is what held my attention above the plot lines themselves. Within the plot, there are several character threads which provide an interesting premise. Overall, I have been moved by this quiet film that I stumbled upon by chance, and believe it deserves more praise than the meagre recognition it seems to have received - at least online. The acting is solid, and this was the first Gaelic film I have watched, though I don't think it will be the last.

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Trivia
Although this film is in a fictional location, there are few clues as to where it might be. It is clearly a Protestant island, which would exclude the southern Outer Hebrides. The locals also play football (soccer) rather than shinty so that excludes some of the Inner Hebrides and the Firth of Clyde area. It is presumably supposed to be somewhere in the northern Outer Hebrides, and this would match up with the fact it is based on two stories by Iain Crichton Smith (Iain Mac a' Ghobhainn) who came from the Isle of Lewis.

On the other hand, the filming locations are on the Highland mainland, which means that some of the areas are more wooded than most of the Outer Hebrides. The actors speak Gaelic with a variety of different local accents, but they are predominantly from the northern Outer Hebrides.