Hope and Glory
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Movie Reviews of Hope and Glory
Movie Review: Beautiful tale of English family during WWII
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a beautifully told tale, based on true experience of a middle class English family during WWII. It's told from the point of view of a young boy, who represents the writer/director. What I found most striking was the way the family carried on after the disastrous bombings of their neighborhood. Homes are destryoed, neighbors are killed, and these people keep on going, sometimes with amazing good humor. After the Rowan family's house is damaged, they dust off the piano and have a good time singing and playing.
I found it to be almost more touching than the many war films I've seen that have shown only the horrors of war. In those one can distance oneself from them; in this one identifies with the ordinary family which makes their experiences more real.
The cinematography is lush -- especially after the family moves to the country. One wonders why they didn't go earlier? The cast is perfect. At first I was hesitant to watch a war film but this is so much more than that. There is plenty of humor and warmth. I found it to be a remarkable film, well worth watching.
Movie Review: Delightful!
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie concerns itself with WW II and the London Blitz as viewed through the eyes of a 10-year-old boy living through it all. He's bored stiff at first because nothing is happening. When something finally does and houses are bombed and the night sky is lit up with artillery fire, he revels in the spectacle of it all. Later he and his friends play on the rubble of blown-up buildings--it's all great fun. There are many great scenes that ring true considering a child's viewpoint: when his own house is blown up the boy worries that his shrappnel collection will melt! They eventually go to live with relatives in the country, and it's an idyllic existence. There is one terrific scene: after summer holiday the boy is forced to return to school in the city. Suddenly German planes appear overhead and bombs rain down on the school. Kids are running around the schoolyard in wild excitement when, echoing the thrill of school children everywhere as the school is blown up, yells to the planes above, "Thank you, Adolph!" A total knockout of a movie, warm and intelligent. A real gem.Movie Review: Distinctly, wonderfully British view of the war
Summary: 5 Stars
Britain occupied a unique place in the Second World War and this film catches it perfectly from the perspective of a young boy.
Boorman himself was 6 years old when the war broke out in 1939. However strange it may seem, the war held a great deal of wonder and fascination for a boy that age (my father, a little older at the time, related the same to me). The British did not suffer occupation -- or worse -- as did the people in France, the USSR, or Holland. Nor were they safely at a distance as were the Americans. The British did suffer relentless bombing. Boorman, drawing on his own experiences, captures this in a way no other film I know has.
He does not engage in the glorifying, ill-informed bombast that myth-making American directors have (e.g., Steven Spielberg in Empire of the Sun -- a poor take on the J.G. Ballard novel). Nor does he try to capture the awful loss that the occupied suffered, especially Jews and Roma, as captured in Louis Malle's Au Revoir Les Enfants.
Perhaps not a masterpiece, but outstanding nevertheless.
Movie Review: An Interesting Point of View of War as A Child
Summary: 5 Stars
Unlike other war movies, sadness is not the center of the movie. It amazes me that even though this is a war movie I did not find myself feeling sad. I interpreted the point of view as that of a child's. Instead of all the gloominess, kids find certain things in the war situations funny. For instance, they enjoy smashing things in the rubble where town is already destroyed by bombings, or when their school was on fire due to a bomb, they were delighted as they wouldn't have to go to school. I know there are some exaggerations, but I think I know the feeling those kids were feeling in those situations.
Small kids act very well, and so do adults. I enjoyed Grandpa's character. Not only the Grandpa, but also I find all characters likable and cheerful. In general, this is a well made movie.
Movie Review: A Masterpiece
Summary: 5 Stars
This movie is high art and it stays with you over the years. A few times a year I will watch the DVD and see new things to appreciate and reexperience. One of the facets of this film is that just when you think something horrible is about to happen, it doesn't. Even the family's home burning leads to something good. Always finding the bright side of life, as they say. I love the German jam scene, and Billy checking out the ladies underwear and the shooting the rat and the school teacher with all the "pink bits" on the atlas - "all ours!" Surely the final scene with Bill and Grandpa has to be one of the most uplifting endings in all of filmdom, complete with a rousing sound track! 1987 was a banner year for films and I think this is the best; in my top 5 of any year.