La esperanza y la gloria

I've been watching 'Hope and Glory' for almost 20 years now, since its release in 1987 and it is still a total pleasure to view. John Boorman has re-created his memories of experiences during the Blitz and produced what could have been a very cynical, black comedy. But instead of dwelling on the death and destruction he has created a delightful pastiche, almost like a fairy tale, viewed through the eyes of a boy, Bill (Boorman himself), as he adapts and revels in the collapse of all the old and comfortable patterns of his life.

I am no fan of child actors, of the Shirley Temple/Freddie Bartholomew type, but these young British actors are wonderful. Bill is played by Sebastian Rice-Davies, a kid who seems to be possessed by the humor and life experience of a 35 year old. His younger sister, Geraldine Muir, steals her scenes with her cherubic face and rapier tongue. Her commentary on sex is hilarious.

The cast is uniformly excellent, though often over-shadowed by their young colleagues. Ian Bannen once again shines as their grumpy grampa, full of vinegar and oaths. His character is revealed to the fullest extent as he shakes his fist at the power lines encroaching on his idyllic house on the river Thames, hissing out "I curse you, volt, watt and amp!" This is indicative what all has been lost prior even to the bombs falling; the advancement of what is popularly thought to be Progress.

'Hope and Glory' is a salute to a more civilized society that was dealt a death blow during The Great War (WWI) and would be buried forever after WW2, Hitler's bombs just sped up the process of the dissolution of civility and decency.

But there is hope inherent in this film. Humor survives and the links with the past are secure, as embodied in the relationship between Bill and his grandfather, they connect and that connection cannot be broken, leaving me with the thought that perhaps we can return to better days, before MTV, Jerry Springer, Enron, Bill Clinton and a government educational system that demands our conformity to some sort of ephemeral "norm".

'Hope and Glory' is endlessly thought-provoking at the same time making one laugh at the follies of human-beings.

Set in London during World War II, Hope and Glory is anything but your typical war film. It's an autobiographical sketch of a schoolboy who witnesses, firsthand, the aerial devastation of London. Through his innocent eyes, we see the destruction in a completely unique way. To him, the war is more than simply catastrophic: it's also creative. This movie is somewhat unique in the sense that it's a war film lacking tragic or heroic qualities. We see ordinary people not only getting by, but also getting a buzz off of the excitement.

What's most interesting about the boy's perspective is this: while he watches any number of British social norms become transformed or nullified because of the exigencies of war (the film has some hilarious scenes to that effect), the British remain remarkably British. There is no debilitating self-doubt about who or what they are. It's about a crisis in the historical sense, similar to Bruni's experience of the early Italian Renaissance, which served to reinforce and infuse with energy the cultural assumptions commonly taken for granted. As an American, one senses what it means to be English, to have those qualities refined and purified like iron in a blast furnace, which is not an easy feeling to convey.

The boy's mother (Sarah Miles), for example, with her husband away in the service, is thrust into the role of head of household. And yet, she's demonstrably uncomfortable assuming these duties. The boy's grandfather, who is warm, acerbic, formal, dignified, and comically lascivious, appears as a bundle of contradictions; but, he's a microcosm of British social contradictions, which makes him fascinating.

One hopes that the events of September the 11th can inspire in us a similar sense of what it means to be American, and maybe help us to find some hope and glory in ourselves.

John Boorman seems to be telling us this story about his own experience about the first days of the Blitz, something that might well be the case because he must have been Bill's age when WWII broke. Mr. Boorman, working with his own material creates an accurate account of what Londoners lived through that time, in vivid detail.

We are introduced to the Rohan family, at the beginning of the story. They seem to be a typical English family of the time. When the conflict starts, Clive enlists and goes away, leaving Grace, his wife and the children, Dawn, Bill and Sue to fend for themselves. The Rohan's neighborhood suffers a lot of damage during the days of the Blitz, as homes are destroyed, even the Rohan's is badly damaged. With dignity and valor the Rohans survive the worst, although the experience seems to have been forever etched in their minds, especially young Bill, who is at the center of all that goes on.

Mr. Boorman gets excellent performances all around. Notable is young Sebastian Rice-Edwards as Bill. This young actor seems to be a natural, as well as the other young children in the picture. Sarah Miles and David Hayman, as the parents, are also quite good. Sammi Davis, the teen aged Dawn discovers love and makes us care about her character. Ian Bannen, Derrick O'Connor and Susan Woolridge are seen in minor roles.

Mr. Boorman creates a nostalgic look about the horrible experience families went through during those days.

Undoubtably one of the best movies about "the home front" of WWII, Hope and Glory effectively recalls the child's perspective of living amidst the rubble of the Blitz. The film's strength, in my view, is how people tried their best to maintain their normal lives and customs as their world crumbled around them, both literally and figuratively.

The young man playing the central character does a fine job of bringing Boorman's childhood to life. The natural ability of children to adjust to change (but not without consequences) is brilliantly depicted. The "gang" sequences were not only funny but also felt remarkably true, especially the collection of plundered booty and scrap war material. It's just the type of mischief you'd expect from letting the boys run wild through this type of damage.

Sarah Miles and Sammi Davis are excellent as the mother and older sister to the central character; their interaction shows the damage war does to relationships and moral values. The highlight for me was the grandfather, however. The gentleman stole every scene in which he appears. The final scenes of the movie show his delight in his grandson in such a novel and moving way that it became almost the film's highlight.

I worked with a man who lived in London during the war, when he would have been the same age as the boy in this story. He told me that he considered this movie the best one he'd ever seen on World War II and recommended that I watch it. I've never regretted it. Thanks, Jack.

Hope and Glory is one of my favourite films and gets a rare airing tonight on satellite's FX UK channel at 9pm. I saw it 18 years ago on its release and numerous times since and it still takes a place in my fav. top 10 of all time. The settings are truly wonderful, the humour as British as it gets and a performance by Ian Bannen that shows what good British acting is all about. His naming of former love conquests at the family Christmas party is one of cinemas funniest pieces of comedy. The cast is perfect and the whole film is a joy from beginning to end. It was deservedly nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and although failed to win would have been my choice. Highly recommended.