"In Which We Serve" is a great movie about World War II, England's entry into the war, the war's toll on people at home, and sea battles and survival. As such, it is a marvelous character study of the culture that was England at the time, running the gamut of social classes.
The film covers about three years, from the launch of a new destroyer before Britain enters the war after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The story unfolds in three ways. First, through the eyes of several men assigned to the ship. The captain, a chief, a regular seaman and others survive the sinking of their ship during the battle of Crete in mid- 1941. On their raft in the Mediterranean, each has flashbacks to times at their homes, with families and of loved ones. Second, we see scenes of their families at home enduring the long waits and then the Battle of Britain and German bombings. Third, we see the men in service on the ship in battle with enemy ships and convoys and in the rescue of British troops from Dunkirk in mid-1940.
This film has a fairly large cast of people with significant parts, and all perform with excellence. In various scenes, I felt right a home as though I were a member or welcomed friend or guest of the families or groups. Others have commented on the stiff upper lip of the Brits, portrayed so well by all in this film. I only add that one can get a sense of the heroism in this, in each person doing his or her part to help keep some sanity and not letting things fall apart. And, the excellent script by Noel Coward, and directing with the excellent acting only brings the audience more into the emotion of the moments so that we feel and care deeply for the people.
What is dated, if not history? One of the great values of film, it seems, is that it gives us a record of history. Any story put on film in the time in which it takes place, is naturally dated. But that gives us a picture, a few years later and decades into the future, of what the life and times and culture and people were like at that point in history. And that only enhances the value of older films, it seems to me, in helping later generations better learn about and understand the past. At least for those people who don't mind watching, enjoying and learning from films produced in the past, about lives and times of the past.
This film is a strikingly rich and seemingly honest portrayal of its period, the war, the life around naval families of the time, and of British people and society. It was produced right in the middle of World War II, when the outcome was far from certain. While it portrays the strength of the British people in persevering, with their stiff upper lips, it also shows the reality and horrors and loss of war. And, it does all that at a time when it will be shown in theaters in England and abroad. We might call it "real" time, today. "In Which We Serve" is a classic that will be around well into the future. I highly recommend it.
The film covers about three years, from the launch of a new destroyer before Britain enters the war after Germany invaded Poland in 1939. The story unfolds in three ways. First, through the eyes of several men assigned to the ship. The captain, a chief, a regular seaman and others survive the sinking of their ship during the battle of Crete in mid- 1941. On their raft in the Mediterranean, each has flashbacks to times at their homes, with families and of loved ones. Second, we see scenes of their families at home enduring the long waits and then the Battle of Britain and German bombings. Third, we see the men in service on the ship in battle with enemy ships and convoys and in the rescue of British troops from Dunkirk in mid-1940.
This film has a fairly large cast of people with significant parts, and all perform with excellence. In various scenes, I felt right a home as though I were a member or welcomed friend or guest of the families or groups. Others have commented on the stiff upper lip of the Brits, portrayed so well by all in this film. I only add that one can get a sense of the heroism in this, in each person doing his or her part to help keep some sanity and not letting things fall apart. And, the excellent script by Noel Coward, and directing with the excellent acting only brings the audience more into the emotion of the moments so that we feel and care deeply for the people.
What is dated, if not history? One of the great values of film, it seems, is that it gives us a record of history. Any story put on film in the time in which it takes place, is naturally dated. But that gives us a picture, a few years later and decades into the future, of what the life and times and culture and people were like at that point in history. And that only enhances the value of older films, it seems to me, in helping later generations better learn about and understand the past. At least for those people who don't mind watching, enjoying and learning from films produced in the past, about lives and times of the past.
This film is a strikingly rich and seemingly honest portrayal of its period, the war, the life around naval families of the time, and of British people and society. It was produced right in the middle of World War II, when the outcome was far from certain. While it portrays the strength of the British people in persevering, with their stiff upper lips, it also shows the reality and horrors and loss of war. And, it does all that at a time when it will be shown in theaters in England and abroad. We might call it "real" time, today. "In Which We Serve" is a classic that will be around well into the future. I highly recommend it.