The Railway Children Return

"A new adventure begins."

2022 1h 35m EN

👍

6.5

SOLID

★6.5TMDB · 268

DramaFamilyAdventure

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

Follow a group of children who are evacuated to a Yorkshire village during the Second World War, where they encounter a young soldier who, like them, is far away from home.

“A new adventure begins.”

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Where to watch · US

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Cast

Jenny Agutter
Roberta 'Bobbie' Waterbury
Sheridan Smith
Annie Waterbury
Tom Courtenay
Uncle Walter
Beau Gadsdon
Lily Watts
KJ Aikens
Abe
Austin Haynes
Thomas Waterbury
Eden Hamilton
Pattie Watts
Zac Cudby
Ted Watts

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Morgan Matthews
Writers: Daniel Brocklehurst
Languages: English, Portuguese
Countries: United Kingdom, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 4 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

CINEMA

Did you know

Part of the "The Railway Children Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Morgan Matthews, shot by Kit Fraser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Edward Farmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Rebecca Lloyd shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Jenny Agutter and Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Morgan Matthews directs. Kit Fraser behind the camera. Edward Farmer scores. Rebecca Lloyd cuts. Runs lean at under 100 minutes. Produced in United Kingdom, United States of America. Dialogue in English, Portuguese.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Released 4 years ago.
2Dialogue crosses 2 languages: English, Portuguese.
3International production across 2 countries: United Kingdom, United States of America.
4Part of the "The Railway Children Collection" — so the characters or world continue elsewhere.
5Directed by Morgan Matthews, shot by Kit Fraser. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
6Original score by Edward Farmer. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
7Editor Rebecca Lloyd shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
8Jenny Agutter and Sheridan Smith and Tom Courtenay carry the top of the cast.
9Marketing tagline: "A new adventure begins.".
10IMDB entry: tt14592998 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Kit Fraser
Original score: Edward Farmer
Editing: Rebecca Lloyd
Production design: Jeff Tessler
Costume design: Dinah Collin
Makeup / hair: Holly Bliss
Sound: Pip Norton
Stunt coordinator: Gary Kane
Runtime: 95 min · 1h 35m
Status: Released
Box office: $457,433
Original language: EN
Certification (US): PG
IMDB: The Railway Children Return (2022)

Part of

The Railway Children Collection

A series of films based on E. Nesbit's novel.

Also by

Morgan Matthews

Trailers & featurettes

Watch the pieces

Community reviews

What people are saying

CinemaSerf2022-07-22
★ 6/10
Whilst I certainly felt a twinge of nostalgia whilst watching this film, I did wonder just why it was made. The original Lionel Jeffries film (1970) had a charm to it that was as much about a sense of "Britishness" and was simple, thoughtful and engaging. This latter day effort has a darker storyline that though certainly worth telling, doesn't really fit with the overall slightly lethargic timbre of the plot. A family of kids are evacuated from the bombing-prone Manchester to a small village in Yorkshire where they are adopted - after a process that seemed very random and quite risky for the evacuees - by "Bobbie" (Jenny Agutter) who lives with her daughter "Annie" (Sheridan Smith) and her young son "Thomas" (Austin Haynes). For some reason there are a few Amercian soldiers billeted in this rural village far from anywhere - quite why we never know; and the youngsters encounter an injured one hiding in their secret hideaway (a disused railway carriage). Unsure if he is a spy, and suspicious of each other, the story gently develops the growing bond between them whilst touching on the more serious issues of racism within the US army and the difficulties faced by the families of those fighting. It's a bit of a jigsaw puzzle, this. The narrative tries to stay faithful to the original theme, but somehow it is all just too weak and loosely defined. The children - especially Haynes, KJ Aikens as the young soldier ("Abe") and Beau Gadsdon as the lively, tomboy-ish "Lily" are entertaining and there is some mischief (and a proper flour fight) to be had, but the rest of it just seems a bit lost in 2022. Sir Tom Courtenay appears towards the end as a sort of wise old uncle, but again it is more about seeing him on a screen rather than anything particularly credible he brings to the plot. This is not in any way a bad film, and perhaps it might raise awareness amongst any youngsters who do actually see it that any form of discrimination is wrong, but otherwise this is a nice to watch film for the television at Christmas that bears but a passing resemblance to the first one.

Production companies