My Family and Other Animals

In the summer of 1935 at the age of 12, the celebrated British naturalist Gerald Durrell and his family went to the sunny Greek isle of Corfu, as chronicled in filmmaker Sheree Folkson's absolutely enchanting Masterpiece Theatre adaptation of Durrell's beloved memoir of the same name. With the Durrell clan played by, among others, Oscar-nominee Imelda Staunton as the widowed matriarch, charming Eugene Simon (Casanova) as the spirited young Gerald, and the magnetic Matthew Goode (Match Point) as the eldest Durrell son Lawrence, (who would himself go on to become a famed novelist), My Family and Other Animals is a beautifully acted, smart, and spirited portrait of an unconventional and rambunctious family, who thrive on—and drive one another insane with—intellectual adventures and a delightful willingness to live life as it comes. (Gerald loves bugs and thrills to the amazing discoveries he makes on this exotic island, while Lawrence fills their rented villa with his eccentric counterculture friends.) So warm and effusive that you can practically feel the Mediterranean sun along with the convivial familial love, this is the kind of movie you wish you could step into and stay forever. Highly recommended. (M. Johanson)