Guttaperc

Eric is a ten-year-old boy, left with his grandparents while his parents travel to America. He is unimpressed by their modest but hardly primitive country home, disgusted and disheartened by their unpalatable fare. So begins "Guttaperc," a film by Barbados-born producer/director Andrew Millington. But the Caribbean world Eric finds himself in is not as simple as he thought. Indeed, it is one caught in a struggle, represented by the two figures that dominate his life: his grandfather (played by Clairmonte Taitt), a local supplier of construction materials, and Sister Pam (Leonie Forbes), an elderly woman with her feet and gnarled cane firmly planted in the past.

Directed by Andrew Millington, Guttaperc leans on a strong ensemble — Richard Weekes, Clairmonte Taitt, Leonie Forbes — to carry a story that balances spectacle with character.

The film landed with audiences for its craft and performances, and remains one of the most talked-about drama titles of 1998.