Only Two Can Play (1962)
The Movie: Based on Kingsley Amis’ novel That Uncertain Feeling , John Lewis (Peter Sellers) is a Welsh librarian who is torn between his wife and a beautiful new designer.
The Awesome: Peter Sellers is never anything other than awesome, here pulling off more dramatic material than he is best known for.
Welsh Reference: Only Two Can Play was shot in the coastal town of Swansea.
Milwr Bychan (1986)
The Movie: Drama following the fall-out when a Welsh solider accidentally kills an IRA gunman in self defence, is incarcerated by his own army and is charged with murder.
The Awesome: With its pressing, pared back aesthetics, Milwr Bychan addresses serious issues with an urgent, intimate cadence.
Welsh Reference: A fresh, fictional look at a real history that refuses to find any satisfactory conclusion.
Tiger Bay (1959)
The Movie: Celebrated crime drama revolving around the investigation into a murder that the daughter of a police officer witnessed.
The Awesome: Authentic footage of the street cultures of children and black people at that time are a priceless insight into a time long gone.
Welsh Reference: Thompson’s film was shot in the Tiger Bay district of Cardiff, as well as Newport.
The Last Days Of Dolwyn (1949)
The Movie: A Welshman who has been working in London returns to his home town, intending to flood the valley where he grew up. Needless to say, he’s met with angry opposition.
The Awesome: Russell Lloyd and Emlyn Williams’ ‘past and present collide’ storyline results in a ponderous, poignant portrait of Welsh life.
Welsh Reference: Richard Burton makes an early appearance (this is his film debut) before going onto international acclaim.
Un Nos Ola' Leuad (1991)
The Movie: Based on the 1961 novel One Moonlit Night , this Welsh language drama is set in a fictional town where issues of mental illness, sexuality and madness are explored.
The Awesome: Challenging and refusing to shy away from tough-to-stomach issues, this is desolate and impenitent stuff.
Welsh Reference: The film’s fictional quarry town is meant to represent actual-place Bethesda, Gwynedd.
The Citadel (1938)
The Movie: Another non-Wales funded film that nonetheless deals with a Welsh story. Scottish doctor Andrew Manson sets about treating Welsh miners for tuberculosis.
The Awesome: Nominated for four Oscars, Robert Donat delivers a fantastic performance as the lofty doctor, while King Vidor’s direction is as fantastic as anything he ever did.
Welsh Reference: A snapshot of Welsh society in the run up to World War II.
Gadael Lenin (1994)
The Movie: A group of Welsh teenagers on a school trip to Russia get separated from their custodian teachers and get lost in Germany.
The Awesome: Teens gone wild – Welsh style!
Welsh Reference: Uh, the main characters?
A Run For Your Money (1949)
The Movie: Fish-out-of-water comedy about two coal miners who visit London for the first time in their lives – and find it all a little confusing.
The Awesome: It’s an Ealing comedy, which means the laughs come accompanied with some quaint and timeless charm. Lovely.
Welsh Reference: The two miners come from the made-up town of Hafoduwchbenceubwllymarchogcoch, a cheeky joke about the vowel-stuffed names of Welsh locations.
The Englishman Who Went Up A Hill But Came Down A Mountain (1995)
The Movie: Drama following the arrival of two Englishmen in the fictional town of Ffynnon Garw, who measure the town’s local mountain and decide it’s actually 1,000ft too short to be classified as one.
The Awesome: Traditional Welsh melodies get upgraded to full-blown movie soundtrack orchestration. Not bad at all.
Welsh Reference: “I don't know what you call it in English, but in Welsh we call it a bethyngalw,” says a mechanic of a part he needs. ‘Bethyngalw’ actually just means ‘thingamajig’.
Darklands (1997)
The Movie: One of the first ever home-grown Welsh horror films, this murder mystery follows a journalist who’s investigating the death of a trainee journo’s brother.
The Awesome: It’s been dubbed the Welsh answer to The Wicker Man .
Welsh Reference: Devil worship, witchcraft – all fine Welsh traits, no?
