There's a new movie in theaters entitled "The Sheep Detectives," based on the book Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann. I went to see it this weekend and found it delightful. I may or may not have teared up. The movie varies quite a bit from the book as far as the plot goes, but the heart of it is the same: a flock of sheep dedicated to finding out what happened to George. The book, however, has some darker aspects than does the movie, which is aimed at being family friendly. That said, the movie doesn't shy away from some difficult topics.
While some of the sheep underwent name changes, I was very happy to find that Mopple remained and had a large part to play in the movie.
The movie's setting is England, not Ireland. Also, the book read to the sheep at the end of the movie is very different in the book.
The following is my original brief review from 2011, to which I will add that the sequel is now available in English. And yes, DorothyL is still going strong.
I belong to DorothyL, a mystery listserv where folks discuss, among other things, mystery novels. Recently some have read Three Bags Full by Leonie Swann, a sheep mystery. I'm not kidding. The sheep try to solve the mystery. Of course, they don't quite understand the mystery--they're sheep, after all, and therein lies the delight. Their shepherd has met with foul play and they really aren't sure what will become of them. He was a rather nice shepherd who read aloud to the sheep, which is why they had some grasp of human doings. One sheep, the cleverest, was Miss Maple and while there was an explanation of how she got her name (involving syrup) I am fairly sure the resemblance to Miss Marple was not unintentional. My favorite sheep was Mopple the Whale, who was very large and while he was not terribly bright, he never forgot anything. He reminded me of someone. I can't think who.
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| Mopple, er, Melon waiting for a story. Or a snack. Preferably both. |
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