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Bella in the Wych Elm
UK 2017
produced by Thomas Lee Rutter for Carnie Features
directed by Thomas Lee Rutter
starring 'Tatty' Dave Jones (narration), Sarah L. Page, Lee Mark Jones, James Underwood, Traci Templer, Matias Barnes, Evan Mancrief, Martin Pugh, Isaac Trevallion, James Taylor, Jim Heal, Barry Anscomb-Moon, Peter Grail, Richard Quarterman, Ria Parfitt (voice)
written by Thomas Lee Rutter, music by Jon Joseph Murray
short, documentary
review by Mike Haberfelner
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In 1943, a quartet of boys found a woman's decomposed corpse in a wych
elm in Hagley Wood, Worcestershire, England, when actually hunting birds'
nests. At first, they were hesitant to report their finding to anybody,
but eventually, one of the boys' parents did report it to the police. The
body was examined, but apart from determining it must have been a woman
between 20 and 45, no real facts could be established - and since in 1943,
the UK was at war with Germany, there were of course much more pressing
matters. Thing is, the following year, graffiti started showing up
saying "Who put Bella in the Wych Elm" started showing up,
relating to the incident, and while it's not at all clear who was
responsible for those either, the whole story moved into the realm of
legends, and several theories popped up, involving German spies, witches,
gypsies, prostitutes and whatever else folklore could pretty much come up
with ... Now basically, Bella in the Wych Elm is a
documentary ... it just doesn't feel like one - which I mean in the best
possible way: On one hand of course, yes, the film provides with all the
relevant information on the case as I know it, on the other hand though,
the whole thing is filmed in a style aesthetically reminiscent of silent
movies (that goes beyond featuring no on-screen sound and being in black
and white), with not giving too much of a hoot about authenticity and
instead telling the story in a very atmospheric, at times phantasmagorical
way that suits the folklore roots of the story very well - and the outcome
is quite simply a very fascinating piece of movie!
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