Douglas' magnificent award-winning trilogy is the product of an assured, formidable artistic vision. These are some of the most compelling films about British childhood ever made. Brutal, angry, bewildered yet also affectionate. Largely autobiographical, following Jamie (eight years old when we first meet him) as he grows up in a poverty-stricken mining village in post-war Scotland. A hard, gritty, hypnotic observation of growing up.