Movie Analysis Essay on The Secret Garden

Introduction

The Secret Garden was filmed in 1993 and was directed by Agnieszka Holland a well as starring Kate Moberly (Wilson 13). The movie features a young girl named Marywho had been sent to live with her uncle after her parents passed away. However, his manners and sorrow leave the girl feeling bitter. The girl is neglected, and therefore, she begins to explore the estate where she discovers a garden that has become hidden and begins to restore it through the help of the servant's boys. The mysterious walled garden had been locked for over ten years. The girl discovers why the garden had been locked away and develops ways on how to revive it.

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In the beginning, Mary is described as ugly, rude, and of unlikeable character. Mary spends quite a long time wandering in the garden and talking to the elderly gardeners, especially Ben Weatherstaff. The garden had overgrown dormant vines and rose bushes. Mary becomes vigorous in tending the garden, and her interactions with nature help in spurring a transformation. Therefore, through her interactions with nature, she becomes outgoing, considerate, and kinder. While tendering the garden, she comes across Dickson who helps her in the secret garden. Mary later uncovers the strange sounds coming out from the mansion, which are made by Colin, who is her uncle's son and sick and crippled (Wilson 25). Colin had always been confined into the house and was always tended to by servants. However, Mary and Dickson get to know that Collin has not been having a spinal deformation and are able to stand as she has always believed. Therefore, Mary takes Colin to the garden to plant, and it is through such interactions that strengthen their friendship and grow happier and healthier together.

When Mary's uncle returns, he is happy to see his son able to stand as well the garden well taken of. Therefore, he embraces the family and is happy with the transformation brought about by Mary. The film depicts how transformation is an exaltation of nature and how it affects the human spirit (Wilson 17). For instance, the transformation evidenced in Mary and Colin is mirrored in different seasons. Mary discovers the garden during winter and begins to work on it during spring and fully recovers it in summer.

However, certain individuals criticize the secret garden for racism and colonialism. For instance, Mary's parents are from Britain, and they used to live a luxurious life in India until they are killed by a cholera epidemic. Some servants who used to serve in Mary's uncle place express racism statements when they claim that they used to think that Mary ought to be black because she came from India. Burnett who is Mary's uncle had a son that was known as Lionel who had passed away from tuberculosis. At the end of the film where Burnett finds Collin standing on the garden, it is presumably based on Lionel (Wilson 57). Besides, in the ending where Colin is seen to be walking again in front of his father is assumed to be Burnett imagining that his son Lionel had restored to health. Important to note is the fact that the setting of the film was inspired by a real garden as well as Christian Science.

Works Cited

Wilson, Suzanne M. The secret garden of teacher education. National Center for Research on Teacher Education, Michigan State University, 1989. Retrieved from https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=The+secret+garden&btnG=#d=gs_cit&u=%2Fscholar%3Fq%3Dinfo%3A69sgAYMl27sJ%3Ascholar.google.com%2F%26output%3Dcite%26scirp%3D2%26hl%3Den