Hope and Glory

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.

John Boorman is impossible to categorize. From his spaced out ZARDOZ to DELIVERANCE to EXCALIBUR, this wildly ambitious director hasn't met a subject he's afraid to tackle. Here, the film maker delves into his past, delivering the story of a boy growing up in WWII England. Directed in a style that is nostalgic and innocent, HOPE AND GLORY displays a brighter side of human conflict. Watching the picture, it is obvious Boorman approached this highly personal material with the utmost of care. Nonetheless, if you're looking for a heavy drama, this is not the place. Many scenes (if you're not in the mood for them) can become a bit difficult. In other words, you're feeling as if you're watching someone's home movie. However, this should not detract from the talent of a true cinematic master, John Boorman. We love you, John Boy. Give us more!

Film-maker John Boorman's (Oscar nominated for writing and directing) semi-autobiographical account of growing up in London during the early-1940s is a wonderful sight to behold as a 9-year-old boy (Sebastian Rice-Edwards) looks at German blitz air-raids as fantastical and interesting occurrences rather than tragic happenings. But the youngster does know enough to realize that the country is in turmoil as his father (David Hayman) is out fighting in World War II, his mother (Sarah Miles) is noticeably distraught and his older sister (Sammi Davis) is having a love affair with a Canadian soldier (Jean-Marc Barr). As all this happens though Rice-Edwards and little sister Geraldine Muir just behave as if nothing was wrong. Their innocence and lack of total understanding allows them to enjoy their youth even though the world around them is in total chaos. Sometimes a lack of understanding can lead to happiness and wonder anyway. Also along for the ride is Hayman's brother (Derrick O'Connor), a man who has always secretly loved Miles (and vice versa), and Miles' eccentric father (scene-stealer Ian Bannen). Boorman grew up in London during the heated years of World War II and it is apparent that he remembers his childhood years not as a time of horror and despair, but as a time of love and lifetime discovery. This is definitely his finest picture (I never did get much out of "Deliverance" and he plummeted to new lows with "The Exorcist II: The Heretic") as he uses quietly effective characters and old-time movie-making principles to create a truly endearing motion picture masterpiece. 4.5 out of 5 stars.

Maybe it's just because of my love for history, but I really enjoyed this movie. I can understand why some may not, since it has a sort of anti-ending and very little actual 'plot.' The film is simply the portrayal of daily life for a London family--a collection of character subplots, basically.

It doesn't sound like much, but the film's strength is its characters. Besides the main little boy, there's the overzealous father, the sexually-liberated teenage sister, a hilarious grandpa, a gang of far-from-innocent little boys, and others.

Overall, watching this movie is like stepping back in time and sneaking a peek into everyday life.

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.