Oranges and Sunshine [M]

Margaret Humphries is an ordinary social worker, wife, and mother of two. Through a chance meeting with a woman that has grown up not knowing her real mother, Margaret uncovers a most significant government scandal: the deportation of thousands of young children from England to Australia. Almost single-handedly and against overwhelming odds, Margaret sets out to make amends for this outrage and reunites thousands of families, brings thousands of lost identities to light, brings authorities to account, and draws worldwide attention to a most extraordinary miscarriage of justice. 

Based on the absolutely extraordinary true story, Oranges and Sunshine is an amazing film that brought me to tears. It’s powerful, it’s confronting, and it was real! 

Margaret Humphries is an ordinary social worker, wife, and mother of two. Through a chance meeting with a woman who has grown up not knowing her real mother and, therefore, her real self, Margaret uncovers a most significant government scandal: the deportation of thousands of children from England to Australia. Almost single-handedly and against overwhelming odds, Margaret sets out to make amends for this outrage and reunites thousands of families, brings thousands of lost identities to light, brings authorities to account, and draws worldwide attention to a most extraordinary miscarriage of justice. 

So here I am, dabbing my eyes, steadying my breath, and genuinely shaken by what I have just seen. I tell you now, after watching this film, I will never be complaining about the “injustices” of my life ever, ever, ever again. 

The term “less is more” is my favourite term in the whole world because it is an oxymoron and it is also brutally true. It hits the nail on the head in three words. It was the simplicity, the subtle performances, and the genuine, raw power of the story that made this film so unutterably moving. With no special effects, no grandiose, orchestral soundtrack, no violent gestures of love, remorse, or gratitude, and nothing but simple moral backbone, Oranges and Sunshine has to be one of the most powerful dramas that I have seen to date. See? Less is more. 

Emily Watson stars as this amazing woman and she delivered a performance that was subtle, reserved, but at the same time overwhelmingly compassionate and determined. She was beautiful, just beautiful. 

Starring David Wenham, Hugo Weaving, Tara Morice, Richard Dillane, and Lorraine Ashbourne, Oranges and Sunshine was an beautiful film, based on a true story that’s filled with compassion, injustice, morals, love, and undying determination. It was absolutely beautiful. Absolutely beautiful!