Review: Martin’s Day

DVD: Martin’s Day (1985)

Martin Stechert (Richard Harris) is a perennial prisoner, and often has visions of a happier time as a young boy playing by a lake. These visions seem to be his only escape into happiness.

When Stechert escapes from prison, he takes a young boy hostage and discovers that the boy is also called Martin. This immediately creates a bond between them, and this is strengthened as Strechert shows the quiet and unassuming Martin that life can be fun and exciting, as they begin a road trip filled with adventures.

With a narrative similar to A Perfect World that would be released 8 years later, Martin’s Day is a heartfelt story of lost childhood and new discoveries, varying in tone between the very dark (Strechert sets himself on fire to aid with his escape plans) and the delightful (fulfilling a young boys dream to drive a train), and also with the beautiful Canadian landscapes as its backdrop.

Featuring a great cast which includes Richard Harris, James Coburn, Lindsay Wagner, and Karen Black, the performances are believable and Harris elicits empathy for the character of Strechert, despite some of the more despicable things that he does.

The ending doesn’t pack as an emotional punch as the aforementioned A Perfect World, but the journey throughout is engrossing and highly entertaining.

Definitely one to watch if it has so far passed you by.

Review by Dave (host of 60 Minutes With) from a disc kindly supplied by Fabulous Films.

Martin’s Day is released on 22nd April 2019, and you can buy it by clicking HERE. ALL money raised by purchasing from Amazon via our website is given back to our listeners and followers in upcoming competition prizes. The more people buy, the bigger our prizes.