The story of Robin Cavendish, paralysed by polio as a young man, deserves to be told.
The cinematography in Africa, Spain and England is stunning, and the costumes and sets are perfectly portrayed - from the 1950s to the 1990s You get the sense of how amazingly brave Robin's wife, Diana Cavendish, was.
With a baby, stuck in Kenya and a husband suddenly a quadriplegic and breathing on a ventilator, instead of collapsing, she pushed for Robin to be repatriated to England and released from hospital into her care at home.
The couple proceed to smash expectations of Robin's quality of life, holding parties, taking overseas holidays, and campaigning to change prejudices and improve the lives of the severely disabled, who up till then had been shut away, out of view, and treated as vegetables.
The acting is great and the script bubbles along well. Diana's eccentric twin brothers provide comic relief.
One of the quibbles I have is, how did Robin afford to apparently live in such comfort, and to travel so much?
It's hinted, but not really explained, that his family is well-off and well connected.
The flip side is that you wonder about how poor people in Robin's position cope.
Not saying he had it easy, but he was lucky to have access to more comforts and options than most.
Also, the movie, produced by Robin's son Jonathan, I think tries to be perhaps too jokey at times - in the vein of The Durrells.
Maybe that was necessary, because Cavendish's life was so bleak a lot of the time.
The cinematography in Africa, Spain and England is stunning, and the costumes and sets are perfectly portrayed - from the 1950s to the 1990s You get the sense of how amazingly brave Robin's wife, Diana Cavendish, was.
With a baby, stuck in Kenya and a husband suddenly a quadriplegic and breathing on a ventilator, instead of collapsing, she pushed for Robin to be repatriated to England and released from hospital into her care at home.
The couple proceed to smash expectations of Robin's quality of life, holding parties, taking overseas holidays, and campaigning to change prejudices and improve the lives of the severely disabled, who up till then had been shut away, out of view, and treated as vegetables.
The acting is great and the script bubbles along well. Diana's eccentric twin brothers provide comic relief.
One of the quibbles I have is, how did Robin afford to apparently live in such comfort, and to travel so much?
It's hinted, but not really explained, that his family is well-off and well connected.
The flip side is that you wonder about how poor people in Robin's position cope.
Not saying he had it easy, but he was lucky to have access to more comforts and options than most.
Also, the movie, produced by Robin's son Jonathan, I think tries to be perhaps too jokey at times - in the vein of The Durrells.
Maybe that was necessary, because Cavendish's life was so bleak a lot of the time.