AllMovie

Featuring neat special effects, this romantic fantasy is loosely based on the story of the Cottingley Fairies, a tale of two cousins who, in 1917, swore that they had photographed the magical wee folk dancing in their garden. The story the girls told captured the war-weary imagination of Britishers everywhere. That the girls later admitted it was all a hoax, didn't matter much to "true believers" of fairy and magic books. This tale, like the original story, is set in the British countryside but centers on a jaded WW I photographer who makes a living in 1918 London debunking phony pictures of ghosts and other supernatural phenomenon -- that is until one day a woman brings him a picture of a fairy that defies explanation. Charles Castle didn't set out to be a hard case towards humanity, It just happened. Shortly after his wedding day, his new bride Anne-Marie died after falling down a suddenly appearing ice fissure on a Swiss Alp. He has never gotten over his grief and desperately wants to see and speak to her again. Charles spends the war on battlefields photographing the dead. The photo that changes his life is given to him by the enigmatic Bea Templeton who claims that her daughters took the picture outside their country home. Unable to restrain his curiosity, Charles visits the area. Soon after, Bea dies mysteriously, and Charles becomes obsessed with the idea that talking to the fairies will somehow allow him the chance to contact his late wife. A magic white flower provides the key to his happiness and helps lead into the story's beautifully done climax. Parents may want to know that some of the fairies appear in various states of undress. This is one of two 1997 films based on the same true story. The other film is titled Fairy Tale: A True Story.