The Ragman's Daughter

An old factory worker living in hellish poverty and broken dreams is haunted by the golden memory of his brief rendezvous with the Ragman's Daughter. You will also find it hard not to be haunted by the film's end when it becomes clear that this ghost of the past is the only breath of joy he has to live for.

This is the last of the so-called "kitchen sink" dramas to come out of a very creative period in English cinema history. It was lost until just recently, but one of the great things about DVD's is that producers are beating the bushes for sleepers like this. It's extremely well made, especially the photography, beautiful on-location filming in Nottingham, England, and the characters are three-dimensional and reasonably likable. Time references are a bit confusing as it switches back and forth between the present and the past, something you'll miss if you get up to get another beer at just the wrong moment. If you like somewhat stately-paced movies with a lot of character development, you'll like this one.