Dean Spanley

A strange, small, but thoroughly likable film, Dean Spanley is based on a little-known fantasy novel by the late Lord Dunsany. It takes us back to Edwardian London, where we meet Fisk Jr (Jeremy Northam), who diligently visits his aged father Fisk Sr (Peter O'Toole) every Thursday - a task made more wearisome by the fact that Fisk Sr refuses to acknowledge that his wife and younger son have died.

One evening, the pair attend a lecture about reincarnation, and it is here that they meet a mysterious stranger, Dean Spanley (Sam Neill). Invited to dinner, and fuelled by a few sips of liqueur, Spanley begins to discuss his own former life as a dog - a tale so thorough and convincing that the Fisks do not doubt its veracity.

Quite how this odd tale made it to big-screen status rather than television costume drama is uncertain, but it makes for a little gem of a movie, and boasts some fantastic performances. ·