infoThe Scar (1997)
Amber Films (Producer)
114/95 mins, 16mm & 35mm (114 mins only)
Colour/optical
Feature film
Available as VHS
Arts Event of the Year Award, Northern Electric Arts Awards, 1997
Special Prize for TV fiction, Prix Europa, 1998
Silver Nymph for Best Actress, Monte-Carlo TV Festival, 1998
Like many women who were active during the miner's strike, it is May Murton (Charlie Hardwick) who has been left to clean up the mess. The failure of her marriage and the disintegration of her community have shattered both her personal and political beliefs. Her teenage children, Dale and Becky, (Darren Bell and Katja Roberts) are increasingly out of control, and her estranged husband Tony ( Brian Hogg) has flown the nest to take up residence in the allotments perched high above the town. Tony views the town from above, realizing what has been lost, but, like many former miners, stripped of the capacity to re-engage with a society which has treated him so cruelly.
May attends a reunion of women activists. It is the night before the Miners' Gala and they are going to let their hair down at the local rock 'n' roll dance. Also heading for the same venue is Roy Cotton (Bill Speed), the recently arrived manager of an open cast coal mine which the 'free enterprise' culture has fostered as a replacement for the traditional mining communities. Although he is from a mining background himself, at 17 he ‘got on his bike’ and has never looked back. In political and cultural terms, Roy is regarded as the ‘enemy’. When he asks May to dance, he is unaware of the effect it will have on both of their lives. Roy does not understand what he is getting himself into. For May, the conflict he engenders proves to be the catalyst to rekindle her lost belief.
The Scar has its roots in work done during the 1984 miners' strike. Amber worked with women's support groups in the region, one of which was in Easington, County Durham. In 1994 Amber produced, in conjunction with a community services project, the video, It’s the Pits, examining the problems of young people in the East Durham pit villages in the aftermath of the closure of the industry in that area. One of these villages was Easington. Links with the women's group from 10 years earlier were re-established, and a process of examining the experience of that community in the intervening period, as well as the tensions in families, the perceived alienation of the young, and the economic consequences on families of industrial decline. This formed the starting point for the script of The Scar. At all stages the local people were involved. They shared their experiences and discussed the script with Amber. Some were employed during production as set decorators and technical assistants, and groups were brought in for consultation during the editing process.
The film was the first in what became Amber’s coalfield trilogy. Like Father (2001) explores male experience in the aftermath of pit closure; Shooting Magpies (2005) looks at the post-industrial generation and the impacts of heroin in the colliery villages of East Durham.
AMBER FILMS
Made with the financial assistance of BBC.
Cast includes: Charlie Hardwick, Bill Speed, Katja Roberts, Darren Bell, Brian Hogg
REVIEWS
The film is both funny and affecting. The acting has an honesty and truth. David Isaacs, Northern Review
A modern day Romeo and Juliet... One of the strengths of The Scar - and it has many - is that it uses local people to add a sense of realism and many familiar faces from East Durham can be seen amongst the cast. Bernice Saltzer, Hartlepool Mail
Terrific naturalistic performances, sharp socio-political contextualisation - an affectionate but never sentimental respect for working-class life. Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Nobody can fail to be moved by the main character... Sunday Times
Surely one of the most unusual locations for a romantic encounter... The atmosphere of the film is delicately balanced - by turns grim and delightful. Sunday Telegraph
Evoked in strong and authentic detail, two-middle-aged people fall in love... a human story... one which digs deep into the emotions, as a conflict between old and new Labour. The Times
A subtle piece of work with some superb cinematography and a particularly fine performance from Charlie Hardwick. David Whetstone, The Journal
The Scar is a drama of enormous importance. Tony Benn
Magnificently acted love story set in a desolate coal-mining town ... the country's growing pains are portrayed with excruciating exactitude. The relationship which embodies those strains is a love affair ... two proud working-class Britons now in their 50s .... the movie also shows them to be soulmates who share a salty humor and a fondness for 1950s show tunes. Stephen Holden, The New York Times
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