Originally filmed in 1949, Frances Hodgson Burnett's enchanting children's classic is given a new lease of life in this imaginative adaptation by Polish film-maker Agnieszka Holland, making her English-language debut. Always a skilled director of children, she draws a spirited performance out of Kate Maberly as the orphan who sweeps away the cobwebs from Misselthwaite Manor. Scripted by Caroline Thompson - who wrote Edward Scissorhands and directed the 1994 version of Black Beauty - the film retains the gothic atmosphere of the book and looks amazing, thanks to Roger Deakins's scintillating photography. Stealing the show is Maggie Smith as beastly housekeeper Mrs Medlock.

A young British girl born and reared in India loses her neglectful parents in an earthquake. She is returned to England to live at her uncle's castle. Her uncle is very distant due to the loss of his wife ten years before. Neglected once again, she begins exploring the estate and discovers a garden that has been locked and forgotten. Aided by one of the servants' boys, she begins restoring the garden, and eventually discovers some other secrets of the manor.