Oranges & Sunshine

In this fact-based tale of a lone crusader taking on past injustice, Emily Watson stars as Margaret Humphreys, an English social worker who meets Charlotte (Federay Holmes), an Australian woman in search of her real identity. Humphreys discovers that Charlotte was one of many English children who were removed from the care of single mothers and orphanages in the 1940s and 1950s and sent Down Under. Although the authorities are not helpful, Margaret manages to not only reunite Charlotte with her mother, but also travels to Australia, where she encounters many others who were taken from their families decades earlier. While the spotlight remains on Humphreys throughout, she increasingly shares it with the victims, most notably Len (David Wenham), who was one of the boys sent to a remote Christian Brothers school, where they were forced to do heavy labor and, in some cases, were sexually abused. This revelation leads to accusations against the religious order and a growing public scandal. Oranges & Sunshine—a title derived from the promised “good life” in Australia—follows Humphreys' campaign to uncover the truth, stymied both by official obstruction and by locals who feel she's attacking them (and the monks) for having taken the children in the first place. Recommended. [Note: DVD/Blu-ray extras include interviews with the cast and crew, including star Emily Watson, director Jim Loach, and screenwriter Rona Munro (26 min.), a “making-of” featurette (14 min.), and trailers. Bottom line: a solid extras package for a fine drama.] (F. Swietek)