why do they make them so big . why do not they just give the money to the poor . the question about cathedral be ask by a student to mr. harvey during a school field trip to salisbury cathedral . that a good question and he reply . partly to inspire them to get them to look up with awe . i be not sure that cathedral have that impact on everyone and but this movie certainly have that impact on me . it be awesome . it do not start out that way . for a while it seem to be little more than a depiction of well a school field trip to salisbury cathedral . if you have ever be on a high school field trip to anywhere this be basically it . you have a group of largely disinterested kid just happy to be out of school for a day and the bus driver who drive crazy by them and some teacher try desperately to keep it all under control . be there and do that and get the t shirt be my initial reaction . i figure that in the end this be go to be a typical story of a teacher manage to inspire a group of disinterested student . yawn . but it turn out to be so much more . timothy spall be brilliant a mr. harvey a sombre and unsmiling teacher with a strange fascination for cathedral . over the course of the movie and his story slowly come out and become the focal point of the story . we also get introduce to some of the troubled student most notably helen and also brilliantly play by nathalie press and who into self mutilation . this isn not a religious movie and but it include some powerful reflection on religious theme . when harvey colleague jonathon ( play by ben mile ) say i do not care what anyone believe as long a they do not try to force it on anyone else harvey reply and that isn not tolerance it indifference . which be and in fact ( in my opinion ) what often pass for religious tolerance in our society . there be scene of reconciliation between various character and and the final scene of the movie be brilliant . a harvey climb back on the bus and director susanna white have the camera slowly pan upwards and so that the final shot be simply of the sky hearken back to harvey comment that the purpose of the cathedral be to get people to look up in awe . the cathedral accomplish it goal . we look up into the universe in awe and seek something great than ourselves and however we choose to define it . this be a very powerful and very inspiring movie . positive .