Esperança e Glória

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.

Since I first saw it, 15 years ago, a little film in a little theater, I have regarded John Boorman's recollections of life as a grade-schooler during "The Blitz" as astonishing. Over the years I've used the movie to bring to life the very points that Anna Freud makes in her diaries of the "War Nurseries" she ran in Hampstead. While the movie is always entertaining, it nevertheless shows the effects on kids and families of life at home during a war: the separations, the losses, the physical damage, the inflammation of aggressive impulses in normal kids, the loosening of parental control over adolescents, the dropping of the curtains we use to keep kids from seeing more than they ought to. The film is wonderfully English, with customary attention to period detail, and a great collection of eccentric and memorable secondary characters. You've just got to see the geography lesson, featuring a middle-aged martinet school-marm who whacks away at a world map, using her pointer to punctuate her lesson on the vastness of England's pre-war empire. I have seen this movie on video, and can say that it translates well to the small screen. In fact it was created for British TV. See it. You'll laugh. You'll cry. And don't tell anyone--You'll learn something, too.

Autobiographical film by John Boorman who describes enjoyable vignettes about recollections from his boyhood . Seen through the young boy's eyes , WWII originates a playground of memory to collect and wild imaginings brought to life in which a family battling through Nazi planes , Blitz , fire and blow up . It is starred by a nine year old boy called Bill (Sebastian Rice) as he grows up in London during the blitz of World War 2 . For a kid , this time in history was more of an adventure , a total upheaval of order , limitation and rules . As his mother (Sarah Miles) must deal with the awakening of her adolescent daughter (Sammi Davis) keep her children in line , balance food rations and attempt to shelter against bombings on the suburban street . Meanwhile ,Bill and his friends prowl the ruins and debris of bombed houses and when occurs bombings they run to bomb shelter .

A flavoursome semi-autobiographical project by the same filmmaker whose recollections come true as seen through the eyes of director John Boorman, who also wrote and produced . There are rollickling portraits of the family members , the bands of young boys are well-drawn and exploring the liberating effect of the war on the women left behind . Interesting and agreeable screenplay , including Boorman's own dialog . It contains a portrait of the lower middle classes battling through suburban semis , good jokes , chuckles and some scene rings horrendously actual , but in other hand other images seem unreal . The highlights of the movie are the joy when a rocket blows up the school and scenes dealing with the gang of boys . It's a fine companion to ¨Forbidden games¨ by Rene Clement , ¨Empire of sun¨ by Steven Spielberg , and ¨Au Revoir Les Enfants¨ by Louis Malle ; all of them dealing with WWII from memories of kiddies . Good British cast who plays with relish as Sarah Miles as the mummy , David Hayman as daddy , Sammi Davis as the feisty daughter , Derrick O'Connor as Mac , Susan Wooldridge as Molly and the French Jean-Marc Barr as the boyfriend . Special mention to Ian Bannen as the grandfather who steals the show as a rogue veteran . Furthermore , Boorman's two children as Katrine and Charly Boorman . Colorful and evocative cinematography by excellent French cameraman Philippe Rousselot . Evocative and stirring musical score by Peter Martin .

The motion picture was well directed by John Boorman . He's a real professional filmmaking from the 6os , though sparsely scattered and giving various classics . John started as an assistant direction and his friendship with Lee Marvin allowed him to work in Hollywood as ¨Point Blank¨ (1967) and ¨Hell in the Pacific¨ (1968) from where he returned to the UK and directed ¨Leo¨ (1970) , a rare Sci-Fi titled ¨Zardoz¨ (1974) or the ¨failure Exorcist II¨ (1977). His films are without exception among the most exciting visually in the modern cinema . He became famous for Excalibur (1981), the best of them , ¨Emerald forest¨ (1985) with a ecologist denounce included and his autobiographic story ¨Hope and Glory¨ (1987) and which brought him another Academy Award Nomination after ¨Deliverance¨ . Rating : Better than average . Wholesome watching .

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.

Hope and Glory is one of my favourite films and gets a rare airing tonight on satellite's FX UK channel at 9pm. I saw it 18 years ago on its release and numerous times since and it still takes a place in my fav. top 10 of all time. The settings are truly wonderful, the humour as British as it gets and a performance by Ian Bannen that shows what good British acting is all about. His naming of former love conquests at the family Christmas party is one of cinemas funniest pieces of comedy. The cast is perfect and the whole film is a joy from beginning to end. It was deservedly nominated for a Best Picture Oscar and although failed to win would have been my choice. Highly recommended.