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Cancer: Major Films   no photo.
TitleDarkest Light, The (1999)
Alternative/Original Title
DisabilityCancer
CountryUK
Length92
GenreDrama
Rating4
DirectorSimon Beaufoy
CastStephen Dillane Kerry Fox Keri Arnold Kavita Sungha
NotesFilm making which makes the everyday beautiful and the mundane interesting. This is a slice of family life on the Yorkshire Moors. It has the flavour of "Kes" and not just from the accents. A brother and sister live on a farm in Yorkshire. The brother has leukaemia. There's a scene in hospital where a roomful of boys have shaven heads. The sister makes friends with an Indian girl and the three go walking on the moors. The girls see a "big light" which Matthew the brother who hasn't seen the light interprets as a vision of the Virgin Mary (the family are Catholics). And the sister concludes "I know you're going to get better. I know it." While Uma, the Indian girl whose family are Hindu, thinks something terrible is going to happen. Matthew goes onto the moors alone looking for the Virgin Mary. Their mother is annoyed at the sister for telling Matthew he is going to be alright. Then the farm is hit by foot and mouth. And walkers coming to see 'shrine' of the Virgin Mary spread the disease. The family is tested for a bone marrow match and the sister turns out to be the only one. Matthew gets his bone marrow transplant but dies.

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