La battaglia dimenticata

Based on true events in Belgium/Netherlands of Allies recapturing the Port Of Antwerp, and the battle to expel the Germans forces still holding onto the critical North Sea seaport channel (the Scheldt) near the end of WWII in Europe.

The film takes it to the ground and personal level, focused on three young protagonists, a British glider pilot, a Dutch-born German solder, and a Dutch civilian girl.

The film is excellent in every regard, winning multiple Dutch film festival awards including Best Film of 2020.

An intimate portrayal of characters based on true events, this film holds back nothing in telling its story.

I'll leave the synopsis at that so as not to give away too much detail, but worth the view for certain.

Photography, direction, sound editing, casting, acting, battle scenes, and even the thankfully subtle soundtrack fill are all spot on excellent.

*Approximately two-thirds of the dialogue is in English, appropriately interspersed with German and Dutch and clear subtitles, making it an easy watch even for those who avoid subtitle films.

One of the best foreign (Dutch) WWII films you will find, and I highly recommend seeing it.

I enjoyed this movie very much, although enjoying isn't the right term. It shows the senselessness of war for most of those involved. Praise to the young actors, who did an exceptional job considering the script didn't give their roles a lot of depth. I particularly liked Gijs Blom who plays the part of a Dutch boy in the German service. The German commander was too stereotypically evil for my taste, but other than that this film is certainly in my top three of Dutch war movies. Go see it on the big screen, support your local cinema!

The Forgotten Battle may not be the most memorable war movie ever made, but it is a solid Dutch war drama worth checking out. The aim of this film is to tell the true story of the lessor known Battle of the Scheldt. Visually, this movie is quite impressive. The cinematography beautifully displays an interesting landscape for us. The battle sequences are especially impressive and realistic. They are violent, graphic and expertly shot. It is very much like Saving Private Ryan in that aspect. But there is a lot more going on in this movie than just battle action.

Early on, we're introduced to 3 different characters who's stories we follow. Eventually, they all cross paths, but perhaps not as satisfyingly as one might have hoped. The acting is stellar, although the weakness of this movie is that all the characters feel like supporting acts as the central focus of the movie is the mission of liberating Zeeland in the Netherlands. But it truly is an interesting historical event and story to witness in this format. This battle, as well as this movie, should not be overlooked.

September 1944. The Allies have captured the port of Antwerp but the Germans still control the Scheldt estuary, preventing supplies reaching Antwerp and the Allied forces. Walcheren Island is key to the German's defence. Operation Market Garden is launched, hoping to penetrate directly into Germany via Arnhem in Holland. A glider from this operation is forced to crash land on Walcheren, leaving a handful of British troops trapped behind enemy lines. Meanwhile a Dutch teenager accidentally kills three Germans, causing a tragic chain of events. On the German staff is a Dutch soldier who now starts to question where his loyalties lie.

An interesting war drama. Covers a lesser-known campaign of WW2, the battles for the Scheldt Estuary (and the Battle of Walcheren in particular) and does so in reasonably entertaining and engaging fashion. A decent enough plot, covering the battle from many sides, with some good action scenes and CGI.

Not brilliant though. The plot is a bit clumsy at times and some aspects seem dumbed-down. The focus of the film is also at a micro level so you don't much information on the bigger picture and the effort involved in the opening up of the Scheldt estuary. While the civilian aspect was interesting much of the time taken on it could have been better spent.

Having seen a number of Dutch Second World War films, If have to say, I was positively surprised as to how close this film aimed to come to actual situations on the ground. Most of the island of Walcheren had been flooded by the Germans and by Allied bombing of the dikes. One of my uncles survived the battle for Vlissingen in a flooded cellar, floating with a tobacco barrel under each arm. Ironically, he died of lung cancer fifty years later.

As war films go this one is actually pretty good.