This is my own opinion and "take" on the film.
You can understand the storyline from the main description, but the real story is that the subject is "the Garden of the Psyche". A B&W film, there is great usage of light and shadow for dramatic effect. It conveys a dreary, foreboding atmosphere, and a world devoid of color (Love and Joy).
A prominent symbol in this film is a raven. According to website www.ask.com, "...the raven symbolizes metamorphosis, change, or transformation...messengers from the cosmos...and help people to find answers to thoughts that they are unable to face...it is believed that ravens help to expose these secrets to help a person begin the process of healing from their effects..."
Mary comes to live with her uncle after her parents die in India from cholera, and she is deeply hurt by the loss of her parents, acting like a spoiled brat and insisting to be waited on/indulged as if she were a cripple.
Her uncle (Archibald Craven) is psychologically wounded by the loss of his wife 10 years earlier in a tragic accident, and takes out his grief on his son, treating him like a cripple.
His son (Mary's cousin), Colin, is told by doctors and other adults that he IS a cripple, and is a spoiled, miserable brat. An "outside" doctor eventually reveals that the boy is not crippled at all, and just needs some exercise and sunshine.
The discovery of the Secret Garden by Mary and Dickon begins to soften Mary's heart, and its subsequent clean-up becomes a labor of love. As the garden is healed, Mary and then Colin are healed psychologically, and become kind and thoughtful to each other. The three children become friends, and are bonded with a common love and joy about the Garden - which is translated visually when the Garden is shown in color.
Eventually, Archibald resolves to sell the house, including the Garden, and the children are beside themselves with grief. He learns from the realtor/banker that the Garden is in bloom and beautiful (after having been abandoned for 10 years), and he rushes to break into it and see for himself. The children are all there, and it's in color. Colin is sitting in his wheelchair, and in a plea to his father to save the Garden, gets up and walks stiffly into the waiting arms of his father; all are healed and are truly in the Garden of Joy.
IMHO, much like classics such as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Wizard of Oz", it is well worth your time to watch it, because of the journey that it takes you on, even if you know how it ends.
You can understand the storyline from the main description, but the real story is that the subject is "the Garden of the Psyche". A B&W film, there is great usage of light and shadow for dramatic effect. It conveys a dreary, foreboding atmosphere, and a world devoid of color (Love and Joy).
A prominent symbol in this film is a raven. According to website www.ask.com, "...the raven symbolizes metamorphosis, change, or transformation...messengers from the cosmos...and help people to find answers to thoughts that they are unable to face...it is believed that ravens help to expose these secrets to help a person begin the process of healing from their effects..."
Mary comes to live with her uncle after her parents die in India from cholera, and she is deeply hurt by the loss of her parents, acting like a spoiled brat and insisting to be waited on/indulged as if she were a cripple.
Her uncle (Archibald Craven) is psychologically wounded by the loss of his wife 10 years earlier in a tragic accident, and takes out his grief on his son, treating him like a cripple.
His son (Mary's cousin), Colin, is told by doctors and other adults that he IS a cripple, and is a spoiled, miserable brat. An "outside" doctor eventually reveals that the boy is not crippled at all, and just needs some exercise and sunshine.
The discovery of the Secret Garden by Mary and Dickon begins to soften Mary's heart, and its subsequent clean-up becomes a labor of love. As the garden is healed, Mary and then Colin are healed psychologically, and become kind and thoughtful to each other. The three children become friends, and are bonded with a common love and joy about the Garden - which is translated visually when the Garden is shown in color.
Eventually, Archibald resolves to sell the house, including the Garden, and the children are beside themselves with grief. He learns from the realtor/banker that the Garden is in bloom and beautiful (after having been abandoned for 10 years), and he rushes to break into it and see for himself. The children are all there, and it's in color. Colin is sitting in his wheelchair, and in a plea to his father to save the Garden, gets up and walks stiffly into the waiting arms of his father; all are healed and are truly in the Garden of Joy.
IMHO, much like classics such as "It's a Wonderful Life" and "The Wizard of Oz", it is well worth your time to watch it, because of the journey that it takes you on, even if you know how it ends.