The War I Knew

Poor movie, none of the surrounds look like France, only of England. Also very poor acting. What is appalling is at the end it mentions Johnny Barrows received a Victoria Cross for his bravery. This is an insult for the real hero's that earn't the VC during wartime. The producers should face legal action for this insult!!

I was hoping for so much more. The opening scene, at night, was so grainy and purple I felt sure it was shot on a cheap smartphone. There is a huge "leap from nowhere" after a completely inadequate "action" scene, in which the protagonist mysteriously teleports from behind a tree into a barn. Rather like the "with one bound, he was free" writing of Edgar Rice Burroughs. Most of the rest seemed to have been borrowed from a tourist promotion for walks in rural France, with the exception of some dreadfully acted scenes which frankly were annoying because I felt that they were on the edge of belittling those who actually were in the war. My overwhelming impression is that it had a budget of about a hundred quid.

Wars are not just big battles and intense military challenges. The majority of the daily life during a war is composed of micro-stories, of ordinary people with their trivialities, fears, and aspirations. In Hollywood films, soldiers magically transform into bloodthirsty heroes, killing machines. However, in reality, those poor young men, taken out of their daily context, find themselves having to confront situations in which, despite their training, they don't lose their human essence.

This is an intimate film, devoid of the grand special effects of war productions, and probably not appreciated by genre purists. The very low budget perfectly aligns with the story being told; there are no frills, just pure and simple everyday life for a small improvised platoon. The music also avoids the bombastic clichés of grand fanfares and frenetic rhythms, relying mainly on significant compositions of classical music, which is likely the music that these young men have in their imagination when lost in the bucolic countryside. The American paratrooper from the 101st Airborne Division might have had different rhythms in his head-jazz, rhythm & blues-but the poor soul, shocked by some bombardment, perhaps only has a profound and immense silence in his mind.

The low budget also forgives a few equipment errors; the German officer clearly has an outdated and mismatched insignia from the time the film is set. The merit of this production is not falling into a simple reenactment of World War II; the gap is truly narrow.

I would have given it an 8 if only a little more had been invested in post-production special effects, which are ultimately the most economical (explosions, gunfire sounds), and a bit more realism in the makeup. I've seen too many clean-shaven and neatly groomed faces, and well-combed hair even after several nights out in the open.

This is one of those films that is hard to describe without employing inventive expletives of the most Anglo Saxon nature. However, I shall try – the synopsis is a British paratroop squad are dropped miles from their drop off point and all but one are wiped out and then the sole survivor, Jonny, has to get back to his lines and grow a pair etc.

Now the mistakes pile up faster than an Enron executive planning excuses. He stops to bury the dead, carries a Luger (that always goes down well if one is captured) and wanders about in the 'French' countryside in the total open. Then he meets some other lost solders and they have some unconvincing and lack lustre japes in the Lancashire countryside. Yes that is where this guffathon was filmed North England which surprisingly does not make a good double for Normandy.

The special effects are excruciatingly bad. Some of the acting raises a smile but to be extremely fair there are some reasonable performances here ostensibly from Paul Harrison as Jonny, James Boyland as Murphy (don't even get me started on the gay sub plot though) and the American Adam Woodward. Others are less convincing but I think that is mostly because the script is soo contemptibly awful. Language often used is of a modern vocabulary and seems totally incongruous for some Brit Tommies in WW2.

It was originally called 'The War I Knew' and is based on actual 'accounts' what are they then? I think it must be that some men dressed up and did some fighting ? Am I even close – well we will never know as these priceless sources are yet to be revealed. I tried to find some positives and apart from the acting – in places – the only other one I can think of is that this is easy to watch on fast forward as you will miss nothing. Not the worst war film ever but one that should be given very serious consideration – avoid like a drunken dance off in a mine field.

After a few days of watching back to back WW1 and WW2 films both blockbuster and independent, I eventually got down my list to The War I Knew.

I wish I never knew this film existed!

From the very start the script and acting are cheesy, wooden and what you'd expect from a high school drama group, and a bad one at that.

I'm not even being picky about the uniforms, weapons or the landscape chosen for the filming. I'll give them some slack on that front as these things cost money. But to get the colour or consistency of blood is one of the easiest and cheapest things to do, I'll give you a head start! it's not one shade of pink or looks like coloured water.

The acting and the script come across as a mixture of a really bad episode of Dad's Army meets a Carry On film and then all of a sudden they try acting with some seriousness and grit...to be honest, I've felt more real emotion from a episode of the teletubbies when there's no tubby toast.

If they intended to show respect to those who fought in the war then they did the complete opposite. No group of soldiers, behind enemy lines would jump up in the air shouting and whooping, high fiving each other after shooting a German soldier.

This should really be in a spoof comedy genre just so viewers know to avoid it.