The Best of Men

Beautiful story and wonderful film. I happened to come across it and it was just amazing. Great actors and based on a true story to boot! One to watch!..

The will to survive is one thing - the will to keep going on, to really make the best of ones situation a completely different one. One can "live", but actually not really be "alive" for many reasons. And I don't even mean depression and other stuff like that.

This is an encouraging story about people who lost quite a lot (literally) during war time ... but were encouraged by a (jewish) doctor to bring new meaning to their lifes and give them new goals to achieve. Something to look forward to ... so quite inspiring story, with some things that may offend people, but considering the mind set the individuals were under ... and the stress and all that ... you should be able to understand and feel for them.

This movie was the telling of a story of a man dedicated to repairing broken bodies, broken mental/emotional minds and broken spirits. It is a movie that shows what offering hope can do to help heal the ravishes of devastation. It's hard to find a movie today that provides inspiration. Story tellers and movie makers today like the shock and awe effect, believing they have created "art" when in reality it's just another pathetic formula story. So my hat is off to the story tellers and actors of this movie. You made me feel good and to realize there are good people out there!

Based on a true story, this is a well acted, moving and occasionally funny drama with a great cast. Eddie Marsan rarely disappoints and is typically good here - I can't attest to the quality of his German accent - but he presents Dr Guttmann as a somewhat obsessive and eccentric but highly dedicated champion of individualised medicine. Rob Brydon is good too as the acerbic Welshman who hides his fear in humour. George Mackay is perfectly cast as the young soldier on an emotional journey, struggling to cope with his new disabilities.

What stands out most, for me, is the realistic interaction of the men and women on the ward. There is plenty of banter and innuendo and the sexual politics seem relatively realistic for the time period.

I note that this was made by the BBC in 2012. My suspicions are that if this was made today the Diversity police would render it farcically ahistorical in order to be 'sensitive' - this would not only dishonour those portrayed, but given that the message of the story is that compassion sometimes involves tough decisions and not treating people like victims, such contemporary representation would make the story pointless.

Eddie Marsan would have to be in my top 10 favourite actors. He seems to put out strong performance time after time and surely destined for an Oscar one of these days.

The Best of Men is a TV movie, but has nothing in common with other TV movies - it really feels like an actual film. Albeit one that is perhaps a little too short.

It's one of the most feel-good and inspiring films I've seen in a long time. Highly recommend it!

I wish Dr. Ludwig Guttmann was my doctor.