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A Circle of Children (1977)
This movie is wonderful
I remember seeing this movie and it's companion sequel "Lovey: A Circle of Children II" as a youngster and found them very moving, if not for anything other than the fact that they were both such wonderful stories and so well acted. I haven't seen them in years since the networks rarely if ever repeat them. I find it bewildering that neither of them have yet to be made available on VHS or DVD given that fact that the first was nominated for an Emmy. I don't recall specifics of the plots, only certain powerful moments. The plot's vehicle is Jane Alexander's character Mary Maccracken and her initial overwhelming impressions of the realities of dealing with emotionally disturbed children. Along the way she becomes close to fellow employees of the hospital, including the head teacher Helga who clues her into what is really important in dealing with such special needs children. Helga's eventual dismissal from the hospital by the state because of her emphasis on the kids' emotional needs over the state's robotic, standardized, intellectual requirements, give Mary even more determination and compassion to go above and beyond to help the kids with their special needs. The first movie includes a story about a boy who "seems" to be unable to communicate with the world around him through normal conversation and only utters loud, non understandable, gibberish causing his parents or anyone with him great frustration. The word "seems" is key here and it takes Mary a bit of time and intuition to discover what the boy's gibberish is really all about. Jane Alexander beautifully brings her character and these movies to life and make these two stories an engaging four hours of movie watching.