Swallows and Amazons

6pm Swallows and Amazons Dir. Phillippa Lowthorpe, 2017, UK, 96 min

Based on Arthur Ransome’s 1930 children’s adventure story, four siblings arrive in the English Lake District for the summer holidays, and convince mother they can be trusted to sail out to an island and camp overnight. What they don’t know is that "pirates" (actually a couple of girls from a neighbouring farm) have already claimed the island for themselves… This delightful throwback to a period when children’s imaginations were fuelled by Robert Louis Stevenson and John Buchan, not tech companies. There isn’t an ironic bone in the film’s body, but at the same time it’s very clear about core values that don’t feel at all out of date: getting out into the world; honesty and integrity; family and teamwork; physical endeavour, curiosity and courage. "A charmingly old-fashioned family adventure—one that you can imagine several generations of a family gathering to watch on a rainy grey Sunday afternoon."—Dave Calhoun, Time Out