Summer Movies 2014: The Secret Garden

Every summer I head to the movies in search of entertaining films in which plants have the starring role. (That's not necessarily the director’s purpose!) This summer I went in search of movies with the theme “garden as metaphor.” Gardens are rich with metaphor, with all the planting, tending, nurturing, weeding, pruning, grafting, and harvesting going on. Gardens are a place of birth and rebirth, death and destruction, and transformation of body and soul. A garden can be savage, or a place of healing. It can be bold and showy, or a tranquil retreat. The garden can represent the inner and outer transformation of a character, and so can be a great device for telling a story.

The Secret Garden

The Secret Garden (1993) is based on the classic children’s story written by Frances Hodgson Burnett. It was initially published as a serial, starting in the autumn of 1910, and then published in its entirety in 1911.

 

The main character is Mary Lenox, a sour, spoiled, rich, but neglected, ten year old, who becomes orphaned in India, and returns to the family estate in England, as the ward of her uncle, Lord Craven. Her new home is a grand but neglected house on a sweeping cold moor. Lord Craven is still grieving the loss of his wife (Mary’s aunt) after losing her in child birth ten years before. He frequently leaves the estate for business in London, leaving Mary in the care of servants, including the formidable Mrs. Medlock.

Mary soon makes several discoveries, including a sickly and demanding boy named Collin, who is her cousin, Lord Craven’s son, and the cause of his mother’s death. Mary also discovers the key to a secret and neglected garden. Several servants, including a kind maid, her straightforward brother, and the old gardener befriend Mary. She learns to garden, and challenges her cousin Collin to leave his sick bed and join her in the fresh air and garden project. The two are transformed as the garden is replanted, spring emerges, and the garden is brought back to life. Lord Craven’s relationship with his son is restored.

I had great fun rewatching this movie. The story is timeless, the photography is beautiful (I loved the use of slow motion photography to indicate growth in the garden and the passing of time), and the transformation of both people and garden is satisfying. See the trailer (select Watch Trailer): http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0108071/?ref_=fn_al_tt_1