BRITFILMS #9 – Accompanying material for media education WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY Great Britain 2014, 92 min. German certification: minimum age 6 recommended for 12 years and older Language: English/English with German subtitles Director Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin Script Andy Hamilton, Guy Jenkin Cinematography Martin Hawkins Editing Steve Tempia, Mark Williams Music Alex Heffes Cast Rosamund Pike, David Tennant, Billy Connolly, Ben Miller, Amelia Bullmore and others About WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY “I need a list. Of the lies we are going to tell. In case I forget one.” Ten-year-old Lottie knows what’s important when her family travels to Scotland to celebrate the 75th birthday of her cancer-stricken grandfather Gordie. Her parents, Doug and Abi, are determined to keep up appearances and not let Doug’s terminally ill father find out that they have separated. And here begins a rather exhausting family trip that is only intensified by Doug’s brother Gavin once they are in Scotland. He’s been planning a lavish party for months now, without his father’s actual approval. On his birthday, Grandpa Gordie needs to get some distance from the party so he heads to the beach with his grandchildren. While the kids are playing he dies suddenly. The children act pragmatically and fulfil his last wish. They send him out to sea aflame on a makeshift raft. This causes even more confusion among the adults and the press descends on the house once words gets out what the children have done. But then something surprising happens: The chaos brings the family back together instead of tearing them further apart. WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY thrives primarily on the confrontation of the children and the adults, although Lottie in particular proves to be considerably more mature than her parents. She secretly becomes the main character since she sees right through her family. Infused with whimsical gags, word plays and a bit of black humour, this comedy is about white lies and uncomfortable truths in a family that has for too long not really listened to one another. The following worksheets will address Why the dialogue is so witty and what is specific about British humour The relationship of the characters and what they think about each other The perspective of the children (using Lottie as an example) Publishing information Publisher: AG Kino – Gilde deutscher Filmkunsttheater Rankestraße 31 10789 Berlin Author: Stefan Stiletto [email protected] Photo credits: Tobis (All the stills are from the DVD of WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAY, published in Germany by Tobis. They serve as image quotations, to enable study of the film’s content, and not as illustrations.) An Argument As the family is making its way to Scotland in the car, an argument quickly ensues between Abi and Doug. Lottie intervenes. LOTTIE Please don’t argue. DOUG We are not arguing, darling, we are discussing. LOTTIE This is how it starts. You start discussing and then you end up shouting and screaming. JESS Then the policeman comes. ABI That was just a misunderstanding, sweetheart. DOUG Sometimes when grown-ups discuss things ... very loudly, people get the wrong ideas. MICKEY He let me play with his Taser. DOUG Well, he didn’t let you. ABI That was another misunderstanding. MICKEY He didn’t say I couldn’t. JESS Did the electricity feel nice, Daddy? DOUG No, not nice. Dialogue from WHAT WE DID ON OUR HOLIDAYS In the right-hand column, write from the perspective of an omniscient narrator what has happened here. Discuss together with the class why the dialogue is so funny. Compare what is actually said to what is deduced from what is said. This dialogue is from the second scene in the film. What do we learn about Lottie’s family from this scene? ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Using this scene explain what is specifically British about this humour. ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ ________________________________________________________________________________ Lottie’s Family Complete the following sentences: In Scotland Abi and Doug are really determined to avoid ________________________________________________________________________________ An argument between Abi and Doug ensues in Scotland because ________________________________________________________________________________ Gavin has been planning his father’s birthday for sometime now. Yet this ________________________________________________________________________________ Gavin thinks that Doug ________________________________________________________________________________ Doug considers Gavin a ________________________________________________________________________________ Grandpa Gordie’s favourite beach reminds him ________________________________________________________________________________ Grandpa Gordie wishes to be cremated and sent out to sea on a boat like the Vikings because ________________________________________________________________________________ Gordie adores his grandchildren because _______________________________________________________________________________ Children and Adults How do Abi and Doug treat Lottie, Mickey and Jess – and how does Grandpa Gordie behave towards his grandchildren? Abi and Doug Grandpa Gordie _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ ↔ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ _________________________________ Lottie’s Notebook Lottie writes down everything she observes and thinks is important in her notebook. For instance, the lies the family is supposed to tell while in Scotland. What might Lottie’s notebook look like at the end of the film? Write down a few entries: What we did on our holiday Imagine that Lottie and Mickey are asked to write an essay about their holiday once they are back in school. Choose one of the two characters and compose an essay from their perspective.
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