Shadow on the Earth (1988) (TV) More at IMDbPro »

I saw this only once, on its original broadcast, but it has stayed with me. It's a beautiful, simple evocation of childhood set in 1950s working-class Scotland, particularly good on the strangeness of the grown-ups' world seen through the eyes of the little boy (main character). There are several outstanding sequences - the little boy listening to his Communist-supporting father decry the Royal family as "...parasites", and his teacher's horror when he innocently repeats this. Also when the mother and neighbours set up a show with the children on the back courts - wonderfully observed. The albino man does seem strange and alien to the boys and the paranoia evoked by the 'red menace', translated as 'invaders from outer space' by the wee boys, captures the period perfectly, as well as saying something about how our ideas and opinions get formed. Great performances all round too. Well worth seeing - I'd love to see this out on DVD.