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Hedd Wyn (film)
Encyclopedia
Hedd Wyn is a 1992 Welsh
anti-war
biopic, written by Alan Llwyd
and directed by Paul Turner
.
Based on the life of Ellis Humphrey Evans
(Huw Garmon
), killed in the First World War, the cinematography
starkly contrasts the lyrical beauty of the poet's native Meirionnydd
with the bombed-out horrors of Passchendaele. The protagonist
is depicted as a tragic hero
with an intense dislike of the wartime ultranationalism which surrounds him. Ellis Evans' bardic name
provides the film's title, under which he was posthumously awarded the Chair
at the 1917 National Eisteddfod
.
Hedd Wyn won the Royal Television Society
's Award for Best Single Drama, BAFTA Cymru
Awards in several categories and was the first Welsh language
film nominated for an Academy Award.
Dyfed is heard vainly summoning the poet, who sign his work with the nom de plume, "Fleur-de-lis," to stand and be Chaired
. The film then flashes back
to 1913.
As a farmer's son in the village of Trawsfynydd
, Ellis Humphrey Evans composes poetry for local eisteddfodau under the bardic name Hedd Wyn ("Blessed Peace"). A friend and student minister William Morris (Arwel Gruffydd), advises Ellis that his verse possesses a passion which better educated poets lack. Therefore, with more work and less womanizing, Ellis could win the National Eisteddfod. Ellis smiles and quips, "Where do you think all that passion comes from?" Meanwhile, international tensions rise and the British Army
installs an artillery range on a local hillside, much to Ellis' annoyance.
In August 1914, Britain declares war on the German Empire
. Soon after at a street gathering in the village, an Anglican minister gives a rowsing sermon which demands immediate enlistment. Disgusted, William Morris calls the Anglican minister, "a disgrace to his calling," and tells those nearby not to be deceived. In spite of this, several young men from Trawsfynydd join the British Army
, including Ellis' friend Griff Jones (Gruffudd Aled).
Despite mounting pressure, Ellis refuses to enlist and states that he doesn't think he can kill anyone. As a result, Ellis' fiancée, Lizzie Roberts (Sue Roderick), accuses him of being, "afraid of becoming a man." At a fair, Ellis attempts to mend his relationship with Lizzie, only to find that she has taken up with an English soldier. "It is nothing personal," she says coldly, "I just don't like your clothes." Later, in the village pub, Ellis, Moi Davies (Emlyn Gomer) are giving Griff, who is now in uniform, a send-off. As a fellow villagers sing the recruiting song, Your King and Country Want You
in their honor, Lizzie appears in the pub's doorway. Ellis spots her and begins to loudly sing Myfanwy
, a song with implications of female betrayal. Sensing Lizzie's distress, her new beau punches Ellis in the face, screaming, "You're upsetting the lady! Welsh bastard!"
While riding a train, Ellis encounters Jini Owen (Judith Humphreys
), a young woman who admires his poetry. Noticing her interest in him, Ellis asks for Jini's address and sends her a letter. Soon the two are deeply in love. Simultaneously, Ellis develops a close friendship with Mary Catherine Hughes (Nia Dryhurst), the young woman who is his sister's teacher. He explains to her that, whenever a poem is lacking, he will cast it into the river, and that it will always return to him stronger. On a railway journey with Jini, Ellis encounters two hideously disfigured war veterans. Despite his sympathy for their plight, the soldiers accuse Ellis of cowardice for remaining a civilian. As he and Jini depart, they threaten to mail him a white feather. Ellis quips, "You don't have any wings, let along feathers."
Ultimately, Lizzie returns to the village with tuberculosis
. After a church service, she informs Ellis that he was right about the war, which is a curse. Later, as Lizzie lays dying, Ellis visits her sickbed and promises to bring her to the National Eisteddfod. Soon after, an official of the draft board arrives at the family farm and takes down the names of Ellis and his brother Bob, despite the resistance of Ellis' mother (Catrin Fychan). As a result, the Crown informs the Evans family that one of their sons must join the British Army.
Although seventeen year old Bob longs to enlist instead, Ellis refuses to permit this. Horrified of losing him, Jini pleads with Ellis to led Bob enlist in his place. Enraged, Ellis states that, if Bob were injured or killed, he could never live with himself. With Jini seeing him off, Ellis departs by train join the Royal Welch Fusiliers
in Liverpool
. Despite the insults showered on them by their English-speaking drill sergeant, Ellis and his fellow Fusiliers continue their training in good spirits and are sent to France. Facing what may be his last chance to win the Eisteddfod, Ellis pleads with his commanding officer to send his awdl
Yr Arwr (The Hero) via the Royal Mail
. The Commander, who is unable to read Welsh, at first refuses, suspecting the poem to be a coded message to the Germans. Eventually, he relents, mails Ellis' submission, and praises him as "The Armageddon
Poet."
On 31 July 1917, the Fusiliers go over the top and into the Battle of Passchendaele. Crawling through swampy shell holes filled with corpses, Ellis witnesses his fellow soldiers being shot and blown to pieces around him. At last, he is wounded by shrapnel and crumples to the ground. After hours of lying in no man's land
, Ellis is evacuated to an improvised hospital, where he succumbs to his injuries. His devastated parents receive a telegram which carries news of Ellis' death. Jini weeps inconsolably as she reads Ellis' last letter, in which her beloved used a poem to propose marriage. Mary Catherine, in a last tribute to her friend, casts the manuscript to Ellis' poem Rhyfel (War) into the river.
The Evans family receives another telegram which announces that Ellis' submission has won the National Eisteddfod. To the sound of R. Williams Parry
's Englynion coffa Hedd Wyn, the Chair which Ellis has dreamed of all his life is delivered to his parents' farmhouse robed in black.
. Hedd Wyns awards include the Royal Television Society
's Award for Best Single Drama (1992), Celtic Film Festival
's Spirit of the Festival Award (1993), First Prize at the Belgium Film Festival (1994) and a section award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
(1994).
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
anti-war
Anti-war film
An anti-war film is a film that emphasizes the pain, horror, and human costs of armed conflict. While some films criticize armed conflicts in a general sense, others focus on acts within a specific war, such as the use of poison gas or the genocidal killing of civilians . Some anti-war films such...
biopic, written by Alan Llwyd
Alan Llwyd
Alan Llwyd , original name Alan Lloyd Roberts, is a Welsh poet, literary critic and editor, one of the most prolific Welsh-language poets in the last quarter of the 20th century....
and directed by Paul Turner
Paul Turner (director)
Paul Turner is a Welsh film director. His film Hedd Wyn became the first Welsh film to be nominated for the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film.-External links:...
.
Based on the life of Ellis Humphrey Evans
Hedd Wyn
Hedd Wyn was a Welsh language poet who was killed during the Battle of Passchendaele in World War I. He was posthumously awarded the bard's chair at the 1917 National Eisteddfod...
(Huw Garmon
Huw Garmon
Huw Garmon is a Welsh actor, probably best known for playing the eponymous lead in the Oscar-nominated Welsh language film, Hedd Wyn ....
), killed in the First World War, the cinematography
Cinematography
Cinematography is the making of lighting and camera choices when recording photographic images for cinema. It is closely related to the art of still photography...
starkly contrasts the lyrical beauty of the poet's native Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd
Meirionnydd is a coastal and mountainous region of Wales. It has been a kingdom, a cantref, a district and, as Merionethshire, a county.-Kingdom:...
with the bombed-out horrors of Passchendaele. The protagonist
Protagonist
A protagonist is the main character of a literary, theatrical, cinematic, or musical narrative, around whom the events of the narrative's plot revolve and with whom the audience is intended to most identify...
is depicted as a tragic hero
Tragic hero
A tragic hero is the main character in a tragedy. Tragic heroes appear in the dramatic works of Aeschylus, Sophocles, Euripides, Seneca, Marlowe, Shakespeare, Webster, Marston, Corneille, Racine, Goethe, Schiller, Kleist, Strindberg, and many other writers.-Aristotle's tragic hero:Aristotle...
with an intense dislike of the wartime ultranationalism which surrounds him. Ellis Evans' bardic name
Bardic name
A bardic name is a pseudonym, used in Wales, Cornwall and Brittany, by poets and other artists, especially those involved in the eisteddfod movement....
provides the film's title, under which he was posthumously awarded the Chair
Chairing of the Bard
The Chairing of the Bard is one of the most important events in the Welsh eisteddfod tradition. The most famous chairing ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is always on the Friday afternoon of Eisteddfod week....
at the 1917 National Eisteddfod
National Eisteddfod of Wales
The National Eisteddfod of Wales is the most important of several eisteddfodau that are held annually, mostly in Wales.- Organisation :...
.
Hedd Wyn won the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
's Award for Best Single Drama, BAFTA Cymru
BAFTA Cymru
BAFTA Cymru is the Welsh branch of the British Academy of Film and Television Arts.Formed in 1991, they hold an annual awards ceremony to recognise achievement by performers and production staff in Welsh-made films and television programmes...
Awards in several categories and was the first Welsh language
Welsh language
Welsh is a member of the Brythonic branch of the Celtic languages spoken natively in Wales, by some along the Welsh border in England, and in Y Wladfa...
film nominated for an Academy Award.
Plot
As the camera pans over the intricate carving on the infamous, "Black Chair," the voice of the ArchdruidArchdruid
The Archdruid is the title used by the presiding official of the Gorsedd.The Archdruid presides over the most important ceremonies at the National Eisteddfod of Wales including the Crowning of the Bard, The Award of the Prose Medal and Chairing of the Bard. From 1932 only former winners of the...
Dyfed is heard vainly summoning the poet, who sign his work with the nom de plume, "Fleur-de-lis," to stand and be Chaired
Chairing of the Bard
The Chairing of the Bard is one of the most important events in the Welsh eisteddfod tradition. The most famous chairing ceremony takes place at the National Eisteddfod of Wales, and is always on the Friday afternoon of Eisteddfod week....
. The film then flashes back
Flashback (narrative)
Flashback is an interjected scene that takes the narrative back in time from the current point the story has reached. Flashbacks are often used to recount events that happened before the story’s primary sequence of events or to fill in crucial backstory...
to 1913.
As a farmer's son in the village of Trawsfynydd
Trawsfynydd
Trawsfynydd is a village in Gwynedd, North Wales, adjacent to the A470 north of Dolgellau near Blaenau Ffestiniog....
, Ellis Humphrey Evans composes poetry for local eisteddfodau under the bardic name Hedd Wyn ("Blessed Peace"). A friend and student minister William Morris (Arwel Gruffydd), advises Ellis that his verse possesses a passion which better educated poets lack. Therefore, with more work and less womanizing, Ellis could win the National Eisteddfod. Ellis smiles and quips, "Where do you think all that passion comes from?" Meanwhile, international tensions rise and the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
installs an artillery range on a local hillside, much to Ellis' annoyance.
In August 1914, Britain declares war on the German Empire
German Empire
The German Empire refers to Germany during the "Second Reich" period from the unification of Germany and proclamation of Wilhelm I as German Emperor on 18 January 1871, to 1918, when it became a federal republic after defeat in World War I and the abdication of the Emperor, Wilhelm II.The German...
. Soon after at a street gathering in the village, an Anglican minister gives a rowsing sermon which demands immediate enlistment. Disgusted, William Morris calls the Anglican minister, "a disgrace to his calling," and tells those nearby not to be deceived. In spite of this, several young men from Trawsfynydd join the British Army
British Army
The British Army is the land warfare branch of Her Majesty's Armed Forces in the United Kingdom. It came into being with the unification of the Kingdom of England and Scotland into the Kingdom of Great Britain in 1707. The new British Army incorporated Regiments that had already existed in England...
, including Ellis' friend Griff Jones (Gruffudd Aled).
Despite mounting pressure, Ellis refuses to enlist and states that he doesn't think he can kill anyone. As a result, Ellis' fiancée, Lizzie Roberts (Sue Roderick), accuses him of being, "afraid of becoming a man." At a fair, Ellis attempts to mend his relationship with Lizzie, only to find that she has taken up with an English soldier. "It is nothing personal," she says coldly, "I just don't like your clothes." Later, in the village pub, Ellis, Moi Davies (Emlyn Gomer) are giving Griff, who is now in uniform, a send-off. As a fellow villagers sing the recruiting song, Your King and Country Want You
Your King and Country Want You
Your King and Country Want You is a music hall song from 1914, first recorded by Helen Clark...
in their honor, Lizzie appears in the pub's doorway. Ellis spots her and begins to loudly sing Myfanwy
Myfanwy
Myfanwy is a popular Welsh song, composed by Joseph Parry and first published in 1875. Parry wrote the music to lyrics written by Richard Davies...
, a song with implications of female betrayal. Sensing Lizzie's distress, her new beau punches Ellis in the face, screaming, "You're upsetting the lady! Welsh bastard!"
While riding a train, Ellis encounters Jini Owen (Judith Humphreys
Judith Humphreys
Judith Humphreys is a Welsh actress who appeared in the films Hedd Wyn and The Storms of August.- External links :*...
), a young woman who admires his poetry. Noticing her interest in him, Ellis asks for Jini's address and sends her a letter. Soon the two are deeply in love. Simultaneously, Ellis develops a close friendship with Mary Catherine Hughes (Nia Dryhurst), the young woman who is his sister's teacher. He explains to her that, whenever a poem is lacking, he will cast it into the river, and that it will always return to him stronger. On a railway journey with Jini, Ellis encounters two hideously disfigured war veterans. Despite his sympathy for their plight, the soldiers accuse Ellis of cowardice for remaining a civilian. As he and Jini depart, they threaten to mail him a white feather. Ellis quips, "You don't have any wings, let along feathers."
Ultimately, Lizzie returns to the village with tuberculosis
Tuberculosis
Tuberculosis, MTB, or TB is a common, and in many cases lethal, infectious disease caused by various strains of mycobacteria, usually Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Tuberculosis usually attacks the lungs but can also affect other parts of the body...
. After a church service, she informs Ellis that he was right about the war, which is a curse. Later, as Lizzie lays dying, Ellis visits her sickbed and promises to bring her to the National Eisteddfod. Soon after, an official of the draft board arrives at the family farm and takes down the names of Ellis and his brother Bob, despite the resistance of Ellis' mother (Catrin Fychan). As a result, the Crown informs the Evans family that one of their sons must join the British Army.
Although seventeen year old Bob longs to enlist instead, Ellis refuses to permit this. Horrified of losing him, Jini pleads with Ellis to led Bob enlist in his place. Enraged, Ellis states that, if Bob were injured or killed, he could never live with himself. With Jini seeing him off, Ellis departs by train join the Royal Welch Fusiliers
Royal Welch Fusiliers
The Royal Welch Fusiliers was an infantry regiment of the British Army, part of the Prince of Wales' Division. It was founded in 1689 to oppose James II and the imminent war with France...
in Liverpool
Liverpool
Liverpool is a city and metropolitan borough of Merseyside, England, along the eastern side of the Mersey Estuary. It was founded as a borough in 1207 and was granted city status in 1880...
. Despite the insults showered on them by their English-speaking drill sergeant, Ellis and his fellow Fusiliers continue their training in good spirits and are sent to France. Facing what may be his last chance to win the Eisteddfod, Ellis pleads with his commanding officer to send his awdl
Awdl
An awdl is a long poem written in Welsh in one of the twenty-four strict metres, using cynghanedd. Such poems are considered among the finest work that a poet can aim to produce, and prizes are given at eisteddfodau for the best awdl....
Yr Arwr (The Hero) via the Royal Mail
Royal Mail
Royal Mail is the government-owned postal service in the United Kingdom. Royal Mail Holdings plc owns Royal Mail Group Limited, which in turn operates the brands Royal Mail and Parcelforce Worldwide...
. The Commander, who is unable to read Welsh, at first refuses, suspecting the poem to be a coded message to the Germans. Eventually, he relents, mails Ellis' submission, and praises him as "The Armageddon
Armageddon
Armageddon is, according to the Bible, the site of a battle during the end times, variously interpreted as either a literal or symbolic location...
Poet."
On 31 July 1917, the Fusiliers go over the top and into the Battle of Passchendaele. Crawling through swampy shell holes filled with corpses, Ellis witnesses his fellow soldiers being shot and blown to pieces around him. At last, he is wounded by shrapnel and crumples to the ground. After hours of lying in no man's land
No man's land
No man's land is a term for land that is unoccupied or is under dispute between parties that leave it unoccupied due to fear or uncertainty. The term was originally used to define a contested territory or a dumping ground for refuse between fiefdoms...
, Ellis is evacuated to an improvised hospital, where he succumbs to his injuries. His devastated parents receive a telegram which carries news of Ellis' death. Jini weeps inconsolably as she reads Ellis' last letter, in which her beloved used a poem to propose marriage. Mary Catherine, in a last tribute to her friend, casts the manuscript to Ellis' poem Rhyfel (War) into the river.
The Evans family receives another telegram which announces that Ellis' submission has won the National Eisteddfod. To the sound of R. Williams Parry
R. Williams Parry
Robert Williams Parry was one of Wales' most notable poets in the twentieth century.- His life :R. Williams Parry was born in Talysarn, in Dyffryn Nantlle, a first cousin to T.H. Parry-Williams and Sir Thomas Parry...
's Englynion coffa Hedd Wyn, the Chair which Ellis has dreamed of all his life is delivered to his parents' farmhouse robed in black.
Commentary
Hedd Wyn has been cited by Kate Woodward of Aberystwyth University as one of "a number of films produced for S4C which ... scrutinized the trinity of dynamic tensions that existed between Wales, England and "Britain."" It is described as "expressing the feelings of Welsh men who are fighting the British cause in wartime, despite their being at odds with aspects of the conflict and the priorities of a Westminster government....In the film, the war-mongering attitude is synonymous with England and Englishness, and the Welsh and English languages are persistently juxtaposed....[T]he Welsh language is a site of struggle, but by exploring its difference with the English language, it is also a means of defining and strengthening one’s identity".Awards
Hedd Wyn was the first Welsh film to be nominated for Best Foreign Language Film at the Academy AwardsAcademy Awards
An Academy Award, also known as an Oscar, is an accolade bestowed by the American Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to recognize excellence of professionals in the film industry, including directors, actors, and writers...
. Hedd Wyns awards include the Royal Television Society
Royal Television Society
The Royal Television Society is a British-based educational charity for the discussion, and analysis of television in all its forms, past, present and future. It is the oldest television society in the world...
's Award for Best Single Drama (1992), Celtic Film Festival
Celtic Media Festival
The Celtic Media Festival, previously known as the Celtic Film and Television Festival, aims to promote the languages and cultures of the Celtic nations on screen and in broadcasting. The festival is an annual three-day celebration of broadcasting and film from Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Cornwall...
's Spirit of the Festival Award (1993), First Prize at the Belgium Film Festival (1994) and a section award at the Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
Karlovy Vary International Film Festival
The Karlovy Vary International Film Festival is a film festival held annually in July in Karlovy Vary , Czech Republic. The Karlovy Vary Festival gained worldwide recognition over the past years and has become one of Europe's major film events....
(1994).