Mrs Ratcliffe's Revolution

Starring:

Directed by

Rating:

fter the mellow and measured Lives of Others, Mrs Ratcliffe’s Revolution casts a disappointing look at the "Eastern" bloc. Eltringham’s comedy plays on the familiar cliches and paranoia of the West against the Communist world. Which would have been fine had the film been genuinely acerbic or even mildly entertaining. But it’s nothing more than farcical. Mr Ratcliffe (Glen), an Englishman with Communist leanings, decides to move his family from Yorkshire to East Germany thinking he’ll find company in many like-minded souls. The paradise soon turns into a nightmare. Plug lines like "leaving the land of Marks & Spencer for the world of Marx and Lenin" don’t impress. Everyone is unhappy in the east and wants to jump across the Wall. While Ratcliffe’s teenaged daughter rebels, the younger one merrily learns to be an informer. It’s for their meek mom (Tate) to realise that the only way out is to go back home to England. It all ends with one of the most absurd escapes. What works for the film is good performances, especially from Tate.