DVD: Way of the Morris (E)

Despite a number of recent cultural reassessments, it's still not quite clear whether morris dancing is a rich part of our heritage or just a very elaborate excuse for bearded men to down Old Leghumper. Tim Plester's documentary stakes a fair case for the former by rooting itself in personal history: he grew up in the Oxfordshire village of Adderbury, where morris dancing was revived in the 1970s, 50 years after the First World War had ravaged the village tradition. The most stirring part of the film follows Adderbury's troupe on a pilgrimage to the Somme, a touching finale that successfully negates the slightly irksome quasi-mysticism of some of the narration.