02/02/2023

Ring a Ring a Rosy - West Country Tales (1983)

Nanette Newman play artist Ellen

Ellen and her daughter Rosie

At the start of the film Ellen is painting a portrait of Rosie


Ellen painting Rosie outside their cottage

Rosie comes and looks at the portrait

While Ellen goes inside Rosie takes the paintbrush and paints onto the portrait

The spoiled portrait

Ellen asks Rosie not to paint onto her portrait and encourages her to finish her own painting of a flying bird. Rosie is upset as she doesn't like her own painting.




West Country Tales was a series of short films made for TV in the 1980s, they are supernatural tales based on stories and folklore from the West Country. 
This tale is about a mother and her daughter in the 19th century living on their own in the countryside. Her husband had died overseas leaving enough money to provide for Ellen and their child Rosie who has learning difficulties, the narrator says "Rosie, caught in perpetual childhood".  She has a tendency to destroy property, in the very first scene we see her ruin the portrait her mother has made of her. As the film goes on we discover she has a penchant for killing animals too.

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