The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain (1995)

by Mark Murton

Directed by: Christopher Monger

Synopsis: Set in 1917, two English cartographers (Hugh Grant and Ian McNeice) reclassify a Welsh mountain as a hill, much to the chagrin of the residents of the tight-knit local community. They determine to make their hill into a mountain, but to do so they must keep the English from leaving before the job is done.

Purr Blur: The film opens with a narrator setting the scene: “For some odd reason lost in the mists of time, there’s an extraordinary shortage of last names in Wales. Almost everyone seems to be a Williams, a Jones, or an Evans. To avoid widespread confusion Welsh people often add an occupation to a name.” Various examples follow, including Williams the Death [undertaker], Jones the Bottle [wino] and Evans the End of the World [doom-monger] with each name being accompanied by a brief shot of the person in question. When we get to Evans the End of the World (Fraser Cains) he is preaching his message to indifferent passing members of the community. Only the calico cat sitting behind seems in no hurry to get away.

The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain - Evans the End of the World Fraser Cains preaching on street in front of calico cat
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain - Evans the End of the World Fraser Cains preaching on street in front of calico cat
The Englishman Who Went Up a Hill but Came Down a Mountain - Evans the End of the World Fraser Cains preaching on street in front of calico cat animated gif

Final Mewsings: Cats aren’t bothered by harbingers of doom.

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