Set in the New Zealand of immediate post-war times, this is a very low-key account of the pioneering work of a young teacher in coping with an illiterate class of mainly Maori children. Almost in despair at first, she painstakingly builds a system of teaching the children to create their own reading books, through the few words and pictures that they do understand. Predictably, however, hidebound authorities (rather over-characterised in the film) dismiss her methods, giving her a nil grading as a teacher in the process. Later, we learn, her true worth was recognised and she wrote many books on teaching methods. That the film seems about an hour long is complimentary to the way in which its leisurely story slips by; but it also reflects the fact that the film only touches on the early stages of Sylvia's career (she died the year this film was made). Performances are exceptionally competent, especially Eleanor David's as the luminous Sylvia.

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