"The Secret Garden" is yet another adaptation of the book by Frances Hodgson Burnett, about young Mary Lennox (Kate Maberly), who finds herself living with her reclusive, mysterious uncle in an English manor after her parents are killed in India.

　　       The girl, spoiled by servants and neglected by her parents, is less than pleasant when she arrives, prompting her uncle's stern housekeeper, Mrs. Medlock (Maggie Smith), to lock her in her room.

　　       But Mary sneaks out and discovers a locked garden that has been unattended for years, and with a local farmboy named Dickon (Andrew Knott), she attempts to revive it. Later,英文影评 they bring Mary's invalid cousin, Colin (Heydon Prowse), into their private world, which isn't easy, since he has been locked up in his room since birth and can't walk.

　　       The story is familiar, of course, and hinges on the performances of the children. All three are much more realistic than most child actors, with Maberly especially good at expressing the difficult changes her character undergoes.

　　       Director Agnieszka Holland ("Olivier, Olivier," "Europa, Europa") guides them very well, adding some wonderful touches of nature photography along the way, bolstered by a literate script from Caroline Thompson ("Edward Scis-sor-hands" "The Addams Family.")