War at the movies
Posted: Mon Jun 07, 2004 8:23 am
Thoughts about the 60th anniversary of D-Day over the weekend inspired this topic.
I want to mention a film that few may know of, since it was shot in Canada (in my home province of Manitoba, no less):
For The Moment (1994) is an understated romantic drama set during WWII, though the war is felt more as a distant event within the context of prairie life. It stars Russell Crowe--he made this film just before making his big splash in Hollywood.
Crowe is Lachlan, an Aussie pilot who, along with other eager young men, have come to air training centres in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth's war effort. While stationed in the prairies, Lachlan falls in love with a local married woman, Lill (Christianne Hirt), whose brother has gone off to join the war, just as her husband already has.
Lachlan and Lill have a fling in her husband's absence, but when Lill receives awful news from the front lines, she is torn by a dilemma: continue to love a man (Lachlan) who may never return from action, or stay loyal to her husband, who also may never return--thus losing the two loves in her life.
This is one of those films that is heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time. It's good to have a film like this to give a prairie perspective on the emotional cost of war. Those wanting the firepower and grandeur of a Hollywood production may be disappointed by this small scale picture, but its bittersweet story has a simple power all its own.
What war movies are meaningful to you?
I want to mention a film that few may know of, since it was shot in Canada (in my home province of Manitoba, no less):
For The Moment (1994) is an understated romantic drama set during WWII, though the war is felt more as a distant event within the context of prairie life. It stars Russell Crowe--he made this film just before making his big splash in Hollywood.
Crowe is Lachlan, an Aussie pilot who, along with other eager young men, have come to air training centres in Canada as part of the British Commonwealth's war effort. While stationed in the prairies, Lachlan falls in love with a local married woman, Lill (Christianne Hirt), whose brother has gone off to join the war, just as her husband already has.
Lachlan and Lill have a fling in her husband's absence, but when Lill receives awful news from the front lines, she is torn by a dilemma: continue to love a man (Lachlan) who may never return from action, or stay loyal to her husband, who also may never return--thus losing the two loves in her life.
This is one of those films that is heart-breaking and uplifting at the same time. It's good to have a film like this to give a prairie perspective on the emotional cost of war. Those wanting the firepower and grandeur of a Hollywood production may be disappointed by this small scale picture, but its bittersweet story has a simple power all its own.
What war movies are meaningful to you?