Passport to Pimlico May 16, 2009

Residents of a part of London declare independence, when they discover an old treaty. This leads to the need for a 'Passport to Pimlico'.

Director: Henry Cornelius
Stars: Stanley Holloway, Hermione Baddeley
Genre: Comedy
Runtime: 84 minutes
Rating: Approved

One of the Ealing Comedies, along with "Kind Hearts and Coronets" and "The Lavender Hill Mob", these movies parody - but in an affectionate way - various aspects of British social life.

Imagine if - according to a recently-discovered and authentic legal document that is centuries old, Brooklyn belongs to Iceland! Consequently, people travelling to and from Brooklyn must now carry a passport or visa, declare items of value at the Brooklyn Customs points.

It is a similar, mind-bending assumption (with hilarious practical implications) that viewers have to make when watching "Passport to Pimlico" (a London district near Buckingham Palace, no less). In the film, much of Pimlico (or "Burgundy" as it is now called) looks like a bomb-site, which it probably was still at that time in the aftermath of World War II.

"We always were English and we always will be English and it's just because we ARE English that we're sticking up for our right to be Burgundians." Does it make any sense? Of course not. Does it work in the film? Absolutely. Watch it, laugh until soda squirts out of your nose, and go away happy - complete fluff, without question, but uplifting and life-affirming nonetheless.

Official Website: http://www.westendmovies.com