The Last Bastion

Many of us have seen dramas of what transpired in England, the U.S., France, Italy, etc. during WWII....but what about those beloved, amiable mates down under? This docudrama does a very fine job of showing what they went thru.

It's not as well-done as CHURCHILL AND THE GENERALS or WORLD WAR II: WHEN LIONS ROARED, but it's a cinch to say that viewers who loved those dramas will enjoy this one. Some of the actors (including Warren Mitchell as FDR) are not always convincing with their American accents, and even some of the actual Americans have laughable moments(Robert Vaughn plays MacArthur wearing sunglasses, even while indoors).

However, no smart viewer cares about such quibbles. One cares for learning about the factual complexities/anxieties that Australia underwent during world history's most dramatic time. That is what makes this compelling viewing from the start. It also provides many pleasures, from a stirring score and to memorable performances from many, including Michael Blakemore and Timothy West as (once again!) Churchill.

To me this was one of the best displayed movie that what Churchill. Roosevelt and Mc Cather thought of our Australian fighting forces. The 3 of them thought that our men were all Cowards and would not stand and fight. The is also what Churchill also thought when in WW1 he was the First Sea Lord and had them along with the New Zealanders land in the wrong place at in what was to be called ANZAC Cove. While the English landed in the right place with their Generals sitting on the beach drinking tea like it was a weekend lunch time.

Mc Cather would not go to see the conditions that our men had to endure fighting in the Owen Stanley Mountains on the Kerkode Trail, while his men sat on their backsides and did nothing. All Mc Cather wanted was to get his face on the front page of every newspaper in Australia also in the Times.