Tam's Tall Tales

- Sunset Song


Howe of the Mearns
© Dominic, Dawn & Jacob Paterson via Wikimedia Commons



A Story of Grit and Endurance
The 20 years that Terence Davies took to put Sunset Song on the big screen looks as if it has paid dividends as the film receives plaudits for its performances and portrayal of fabulous landscapes.

The vagaries of the Scottish climate encourages the filmmakers to shoot the summer scenes in New Zealand.

Lewis Crassic Gibbon's Sunset Song is regarded as one of the most important Scottish novels of the 20th century. The story is set in the Mearns country, the area around Stonehaven in the north east of Scotland, and shows peoples' struggles to have a satisfying life in difficult economic and social climates.

Chris, the book's central character,is abused by her husband who is traumatised by the First World War which eventually leaves her a widow.

I hope the film does well and proves to be a good resource for generations of Scottish pupils who will be required to study the book for their exams.


Please give me whatever feedback comes to mind via tamfromrampant@gmail.com.

Tam O'Ranter
January 2016

Return to Tam O'Ranter Index




Where else would you like to go in Scotland?








Separator line