49ème parallèle

When I first saw the title of this movie, I thought it was about the Korean War. But then I realized it was 1941, and well before the troubles in Korea. The story of this film is interesting because it was seldom done (except for One That Got Away). Canadian WW 2 films on Canadian soil were seldom examined. The cinematography is outstanding, but that should be no surprise as Michael Powell was renowned for his talents. It is interesting to note the attitudes of the times, but a little American propaganda was sprinkled in for good measure. Not too bad a show.

You'd be tempted to think that there's no way '49th Parallel (1941)' could have turned out anything less than excellent. Not only do Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger perform their famous double-act, but there's also the equally-enviable partnership of David Lean (here working as editor) and cinematographer Freddie Young. But we must remember that in the realm of WWII propaganda there lie dangerous waters, and only the most talented filmmakers (so far, I count Hitchcock, Wilder, Renoir, Curtiz and Reed) can navigate their war-themed picture towards any degree of lasting respectability. We can certainly add Michael Powell to that list of famous names. '49th Parallel' is different from most of its contemporaries because it presents the film solely from the German point-of-view. The portrayal is not favourable, of course, and at least their commander reeks of pure evil, but the German characters are nonetheless humanised to no small extent. These aren't cold, immoral monsters, but ordinary people, swept up in euphoric Nazi ideology and pining for the simpler life they can barely remember.

When a German submarine is destroyed in Hudson Bay, Canada, the surviving Nazi soldiers – led by the fiercely patriotic Kommandant Bernsdorff (Richard George) – must navigate their way across the country into the then-neutral United States of America. The native citizens they meet along the way are largely jovial and laid-back, many hardly aware of the war raging across the Atlantic, and the Germans haughtily deem them foes unworthy of the Fuhrer's might. But these Canadians, as placid as they first seem, can surely recognise fascism when they see it, and each of the soldiers is picked off one by one, like the characters from a war-themed version of Agatha Christie's "And Then There Were None." Among the unwitting local patriots is French-Canadian trapper Laurence Olivier – a caricature but an entertaining one – anthropologist/author Leslie Howard, and grinning deserter Raymond Massey, each of whom shows the Nazis that they're dealing with an enemy whose sheer spirit overshadows all of Hitler's armies combined.

The film was apparently intended as a tribute to Canada's involvement in the war, and perhaps – as was Hitchcock's 'Foreign Correspondent (1940)' – a call-to-arms for the then-isolationist United States, who would hold back until the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbour in December 1941. Many of the film's characters remark upon the sheer remoteness of the war relative to their own lives, unaware that it is actually standing before them; this idea was almost certainly aimed at American audiences. After the brilliantly suspenseful first act at Hudson Bay, I initially felt that the film was going off track by continuing to follow the Germans after their aerial departure from the remote village. However, as time wore on, I began to appreciate what the film was aiming for. Though the snow-swept slopes around Hudson Bay may seem leagues away from the Canadian/American border, Kommandant Bernsdorff and his ever-dwindling band gradually progress their way south, until, not only does he reach the border, but he physically crosses into the United States. The War had never been closer.

Yes, it is (was) propaganda. But never has there been a more curiously right and true epitome of the sloppy yet resilient defense of transcontinental democracy than this. Canada wins because Canada is a mess; the Nazi neatness and demand for clear-cut lines falters, and in the end is clobbered with a roundhouse right. So long as I live, I will love this film; it's P&P at their best, and the Vaughan WIlliams score is second to none. What else can one say? I wish I were Canadian.

And since the IMDb, to which I contributed long before it became such a commercial concern, insists that I have at least 10 lines of text, I will keep on jabbering for a few more lines, in order to preserve the above comments for posteriority ...

I should only like to add to the already comprehensive, very well observed and intelligent review of this film on the previous pages, namely, that the film score by the great Ralph Vaughan Williams should not be left out of any discussion of the picture. As the film starts with the magnificent mountain scenery and Eric Portman's fantastic introductory speech ("shook hands on it and kept it ever since...", "the 49th parallel, the only undefended border in the world...") you seem to be immediately transported into the spirit and persuasion of this exercise in trying to convince all Americans, not just Canadians, that they should join the fight, their place is with all the others, Europeans, British, French, all peoples under the Nazi yoke.

The above words are said in this brilliant film, and it sums the film up for me. They come just after the burning of a couple of paintings and ' The Magic Mountain ' in of all places a Canadian wilderness. I will give no other spoilers, because this film transcends propaganda, and when the plot of the film is described it sounds like a typical WW2 story. It is not. It shows a group of rotten people crossing a civilized landscape ( maybe to some idealized ) who learn nothing from the experience. Only one does, but is ruthlessly killed by the others with him. The said others have been made rotten by an ideology that still lives today and still threatens us, shifting from one country to many other countries in the current world we live in. Beautifully filmed with sequences that take one's breath away and images that burn into the mind I consider this film to be one of the best ever made. Powell and Pressburger made a number of fine films, but this excels probably with their ' A Canterbury Tale '. As I was watching I thought of the two sources of all our artistic heritage; Homer's ' The Iliad ' and ' The Odyssey '. Both of the above mentioned films draw upon the latter book in their search for meaning and transformation. As for the acting I have a few doubts, but none can subtract from the 10 I give the film. Lawrence Olivier is frankly terrible imitating a French Canadian and Eric Portman lacks nuances in his performance and too heavily emphasis the ' evil ' in his character. Who stands out most as giving the greatest speech is Anton Walbrook and for those who have not seen the film watch out for the part of the film he is in. It is everything that tolerance and goodness should be and his delivery of words and his presence in the film glowed like a beacon in the darkness. I am ashamed I have not seen this film before.