Brassed Off

This little known film from Mark Herman deals with a group of English coal miners faced with an obsolete future. It's a true story and Herman does a brilliant job telling it, warts and all and holding no punches. He brings together a virtual all-star cast of English character actors making this look almost like a special episode of THE EASTENDERS. Pete Postlethwaite and Ewan McGregor provide what might pass for star power here, I say this only because everybody brings their A-game here making them all stars in their own right. Of course, the whole plot revolves not only around the impending closing of the local mine and the labor disputes that come with it, but the brass band they all belong to, hence the title. Tara Fitzgerald provide the love interest here in what you will fin to be one of the most understated and moving films around.