User reviews

A Sense of History is a brilliantly funny short.

Purporting to be a documentary on a member of the British landed gentry, the 23rd Earl of Leete himself tells his august (and not so) family's story, stretching back to the Norman conquest.

A Sense of History mimics a peculiarly English documentary style with beautiful subtlety- the camera angles and movement as the Earl shows the viewer his estate, his Attenborough-like aristocratic tones and speech mannerisms, his smoothly flowing dialogue in contrast to and yet in effective tandem with numerous cuts to various parts of his woodland estate significant to his story. Even the Earl's encounter with one of his awkwardly deferential workers reinforces a particular sense of reported social reality.

At the introduction, with the Earl walking through a ruined arch and in an oh-so BBC tone talking about how he has always had a "sense of history" (exit right Earl, focus moves up to arch, cue title, trumpet intro music), it's difficult to tell that you are not watching a genuine documentary.

Without giving away the story, the audience is gradually made aware that all is not what it seems. This is achieved so cleverly and artfully, employing all the conventions of the "serious English documentary" that every successive cut to a new morsel of narration and revelation adds cumulatively to audience enjoyment without requiring an unbelievable climax. The tag after the credits puts the finishing touch on a truly marvellous short film. See it if you can.

Ihave just seen (most) of this on Film Four - missed the first few minutes. I recognised it instantly as a play I heard on Radio 4, 4 or 5 years ago. I was completely suckered into its premise then of a lovable old buffer reminiscing, whose ruthlessness and self-centredness gradually become only too apparent. I thought it was brilliant and funny and a pretty devastating critique of the English ruling class. I have been looking out for it ever since. So I was delighted to come upon the film which I didn't know existed till tonight. And the I found it was written and acted by Jim Broadbent and directed by Mike Leigh! That says a lot. However for some reason I didn't find the film so funny. The radio play was done as a memoir, just the character talking and somehow seemed more intimate, and the character so horrifyingly likable at first. I don't know if it was Jim Broadbent himself. I wonder if anybody else has heard the radio play and seen the film and has any comments. And who was the actor playing the Earl in the play? I would love to know if it was JB. Is the script available I wonder?

I saw this film several years ago, and since then have been trying to find a way to see it again.

One of the most unforgettable and brilliant pieces of work I have ever seen.

I enjoyed it so much I still tell people about it. I have been trying to find how to get hold of it through several telephone calls and internet investigations only to be told it was unobtainable.

Ingeniously crafted with Jim Broadbent entrapping me perfectly in his web. I kept thinking I was watching a legitimate documentary only to to see it eventually unfold into an incredibly funny and clever comedy. As it started to wind down to the end I could feel myself tensing up as if somehow I could stop it from finishing.

BRAVO! BRAVO! BRAVO! But please guys, don't withhold this from the world.

Brendan summed it up nicely but it doesn't stress how funny this short really is.

This is a must see short film that you will never forget and be forever quoting.

All I can add is to persevere through the seemingly boring long opening of a documentary on a British aristocrat land owner talking about the values of family tradition, increasing ones land, and finding a fine wife; before you know it you will find that this is no ordinary Earl (or is he!?!?)

Jim Broadbent at his best!

This is a wonderful piece of film. A moving, stirring, tragic and comic short, which is essentially nothing more than a monologue!!!

Jim Broadbent is spectacular and the whole thing is beautifully put together. I saw this in the film tent at Glastonbury a couple of years ago and have just managed to see the streaming available to all on the channel 4 site, I will certainly be spreading the link to as many people as i can. (I believe it is posted on the message board for the film.)

This is a piece of television which I could happily watch over and over. The "spoof" documentary style (although this certainly isn't the best description) works to a tee and as the story unfolds and the life of the Earl unravels it becomes clear that much thought has been put not only into the script but also acting performance and filming. Watch it and love it.

A superb actor at his superb best.

Quite Wonderful!

The family history of the Earls of Leete, told by the 23rd Earl (Jim Broadbent) is a hypnotic masterpiece. Very funny, very black and very intelligent.

This is virtually a monologue. I tend to find monologues boring, although the British seem to do them quite well. But this was utterly absorbing. Although Jim Broadbent tells the story in the typically relaxed manner of a Brit aristocratic, I was on the edge of my seat wanting to hear the story.

I wish the British aristocracy was really like this.

If you would like to see an unusual, remarkable movie, don't miss "A sense of history" directed by Mike Leigh. This astonishing little piece of work was written and performed by the British actor Jim Broadbent, well known from many other films in Great Britain. The story takes place on a manor somewhere in Scotland. Jim Broadbent, playing a wealthy Earl shows what "a sense of history" also can be. No knights, no battles nor queens, but a "respectable" old man, reflecting on his life, that hides more crimes than you can imagine. The destiny of his first wife, his children? The dramatic fate of his father and - last but not least - the terrible end of his older brother? Have a look, you won't be disappointed by this parody of the old Bristish aristocracy...

There's something distinctly Churchillian about Jim Broadbent's rather engaging performance as the 23rd Earl of Leete. His rather grand exposé of their country estate (in front of an instantly recognisable Highcere) begins with the traditional "held in trust" kind of monologue, then the peer gradually drifts into a bit of familial character assassination that depicts his mother as a cough-medicine addict, his father as a rather stupid bully, and his elder brother - and the heir apparent - as a raging homosexual (even if he was 11 years old!). Anyway, with the estate in dire straits and his brother unlike to procreate, this seven year old Lord decides to dispose of his brother. Pigeon and rabbit shooting was a popular family pastime, so we now get a fairly graphic and detailed description of just what happened (think "Kind Hearts and Coronets") before continuing, seamlessly, with chat about the growth of the estate after the reformation under the 6th Earl and then a brief conversation with one of his tractor driving serfs! More family tragedies ensue and the narration becomes even more darkly humoured as we venture into his own WWII not so conscientious objections and his, qualified, support for the organisational genius that was Hitler! How to expand the estate? Well that's where marriage comes in. No sentiment, just acreage and knowing which fork to use! Finally, and this is where it comes off the rails a bit, he falls in love with a stable lass and decides that his homicidal tendencies needed honing again. Broadband's efforts and his pithy writing marries the pompous and the comedic excellently here, and his proud historical speechifying is expertly contrasted by his rants and his sense of privilege. A must see, this.

I got suckered into this film on BravoTV believing I was looking at a documentary, then soon it's real nature began to show itself. Extremely well written, acted, directed, and crafted as well as a BBC documentary. If one only watched the cinematography, this film is remarkably beautiful. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and count it with "The Secret Cinema", "Karma Cafe", "The Music Box" and "Duck Amok" as my favorite short films. Needless to say, I didn't rest until I found it's repeat broadcast on Bravo's schedule. This film made me aware of the towering talent of Jim Broadbent. His performances in "Iris", "Little Voice" and "Moulin Rouge" have all been treats and I'll never again miss a Broadbent film.

"A sense of history" is a short film about upper class life in Britain. Broadbent is the 23rd Earl of Leete who takes us for a tour around his vast domain and telling us the incredible history of his family heritage. During the walk, this very banal and typical British landowner appears like an eccentric and psychopath person able to do anything to keep his material position. The film was directed by Mike Leigh in 1992. Known for his sensitive and satirical talent, he is one of the best English movie directors. He makes a lot of success such as "Secrets and Lies" which won numerous awards, including the "Palme d'Or" at the 1996 Cannes Film Festival. The script was written by Jim Broadbent, the main actor in the film. "A sens of history" is the first time that Mike Leigh has directed for another writer. Though a mixture of tragedy and comedy, the film seems to convey the message than an obsession with power and material goods will leave you without emotion and devoid of humanity. What seems to be, at the first view, a boring documentary about high society in the 20th century, becomes a dark comedy when the main character reveals us suspicious things he did in his life. Are all the British landowners as lunatic and homicidal as Broadbent?... This film will be appreciated by people besotted with typical British black humor who like parodies.