Grow Your Own (2007)

I watched a nice British comedy this morning, Grow Your Own, about a group of people in an allotment. It was a rather gentle comedy that was well played and made some well crafted points about immigration and integration, with a cast populated by well known TV character actors such as Benedict Wong, Eddie Marsan and Olivia Coleman, plus Omid Djalili.

The lead story, if there was one as this was very much an ensemble piece, featured Benedict Wong's mute father, who is placed at an allotment to try to get him to open up. When we find out why he has been struck dumb, the revelation is fairly shocking in both the grim reality of the situation and the mundane nature of the character's finally opening up - to an extra. His children's attempts to get him to speak and interact with the world/allotment are sweet and touching, while the other characters provide much humour and warmth. There are sour notes when Omid Djalili's doctor and his family are forcibly removed by immigration officers, but there is an inevitable happy ending... for everyone else - Djalili's family remain deported. 

Grow Your Own is a very British film with a large optimistic streak that can be a bit hard to swallow, but ultimately it's fun and a good watch.