This is a very fine British family film. Because it is British rather than American, it is not stuffed full of artificial and mawkish sentimentality, but is more effective for being 'straight up'. The central role is played by an excellent child actor named Matthew Beard (born 1989), who since then has appeared in many films and TV series, most recently playing Guy Bellingfield in the rather notorious recent film THE RIOT CLUB (2014), which parodies the Bullingdon Club at Oxford. The young girl who plays opposite Beard is played by Charlotte Wakefield (born 1990), who is also excellent. Since then she has appeared in four TV series. Angeline Ball does an excellent job of playing the highly nervy and objectionable mother of Beard and does some really good hysterical scenes. (Let's hope she does not take her work home with her.) Sturdy Tom Wilkinson is there, like an English oak, supporting the whole effort with his unflappable demeanour as a farmer who is the adoptive father of the girl. Anna Massey plays 'Rosie' and gives a marvellous professional polish to the proceedings, as she did to everything. Of all the actresses I have known, she was certainly one of the nicest and most intelligent. She was married to a delightful, gentle scientist named Uri Andres (who once astounded me by handing me a chunk of kimberlite containing diamonds), having earlier somehow survived marriage to Jeremy Brett, which was evidently not easy. (She also had sadly unsatisfactory relationships with her father and her brother, the actors Raymond Massey and Daniel Massey, so you could say she had a rough time with the male gender for much of her life.) She was a truly fascinating woman. The well-known character actress Dora Bryan has a bit part in this film, and it is a shame we see so little of her. Willard Carroll has done a very good job of directing this film. The story is a 'slip through time' one, where the little boy of today goes back to the days of World War Two and then returns much wiser. It is quite an adventure, and children will love it. The film was shot entirely on location in South Yorkshire, with much beautiful scenery. The film is entirely wholesome, and the coarsest thing in it is milking a cow.

This is a surprising little gem of a film that takes a slightly hackneyed premise and brings it to life again. A boy, child of a modern family, seems to be acting up. Then he disappears. But things are not as they seem in this heartwarming drama about a young boy learning to trust, and a young girl learning to love, in this tale of two times in one place. The acting is fine and understated, but Tess the dog will still steal your heart! The film has a realistic sheen to it, rather than the usual mistiness associated with films of the genre, and this ordinariness heightens the quality of the drama. What is more, the film is not set in London, as so many are. There is little else I can say without spoiling your enjoyment of the film.

It's a nice enough story, and filmed in just the right touch of romance. Casting is also just right, and the location is true to the story setting. As an adult I like viewing it even if it is meant for children. There are some hidden messages children would never catch, which make it worthwhile to view. But one thing came to mind as soon as the plot became clear. The writer(s) almost MUST have read "Johnny and the bomb" (1996) by Terry Pratchett. There simply are too many parallels for coincidence. Of course I can't go into the details much without disclosing the plot of the story. But some of the characters and the major story line are exactly the same. Read the book and decide for yourself. A great book by the way, even be it for the youth.

I saw this film in a movie festival in Brittany, France. Somebody here said it was for children, but I'm 27, I saw it with my mother and my boyfriend when it came out, and the three of us just loved it. The story of a young boy accidentally traveling into the past, and then going back there on purpose and saving a little girl's life is absolutely brilliant, and the actors are all perfect : Charlotte Wakefield and Matthew Beard show an outstanding maturity, and Tom Wilkinson, Julie Cox and Anna Massey are also incredibly moving. After seeing this film we were all in tears, and I was thrilled tonight when it got on TV at long last... I just found out it had come out on DVD in America, so I will be able to get it and recommend it to everyone I know.