 the englishman who went up a hill but came down a mountain is a 1995 british film written by ivor monger and directed by christopher monger. it was entered into the 19th moscow international film festival and was screened in the un certain regard section at the 1995 cannes film festival. the film is based on a story heard by christopher monger from his grandfather about the real village of taff's well (ffynnon taf in welsh), rhondda cynon taff, wales and its neighbouring garth hill. due to 20th century urbanisation of the area, it was filmed in the more rural llanrhaeadr-ym-mochnant and llansilin in mid wales. ==plot== the film is set in 1917 (with world war i in the background), and revolves around two english cartographers, the pompous garrad and his junior, anson. they arrive at the fictional welsh village of ffynnon garw ("rough fountain" or "rough spring" in welsh) to measure its "mountain" &ndash; only to cause outrage when they conclude that it is only a hill because it is slightly short of the required 1000 feet in height. the villagers, aided and abetted by the wily morgan the goat and the reverend mr jones (who after initially opposing the scheme, grasps its symbolism in restoring the community's war-damaged self-esteem), conspire with morgan to delay the cartographers' departure while they build an earth cairn on top of the hill to make it high enough to be considered a mountain. ==cast== * hugh grant as reginald anson * ian mcneice as george garrad * tara fitzgerald as betty from cardiff * colm meaney as morgan the goat * ian hart as johnny shellshocked * robert pugh as williams the petroleum * kenneth griffith as the rev
1990s_romantic_comedy_films 1995_films British_films British_romantic_comedy_films English-language_films Films_directed_by_Christopher_Monger Films_set_in_1917 Films_set_in_Wales Pinewood_Studios_films