Queen & Country (2015)

How sad is this?

One of the most extraordinary films you will see this year. Take that as you want.

Blistering performances.

The film's masterful storytelling did its job. The message was clear. No need to overdo.

Writer and director John Boorman introduced us to some of these characters back in 1987 with the marvellous war time tale – 'Hope and Glory'. Bill is now ten years old and has been sent off to do his National Service – only we are now involved in the Korean War (which still limps on to this day – peace never having been formally agreed). He and his mate Percy though end up stuck in base camp teaching the typing pool.Life in the camp is far from fun and games and the strict Regimental Sergeant Major and Sergeant Major make their life a bit of a hell – so they create diversions, shenanigans and go chasing the girls near the base by way of diversion. However, as with all diversions – whether on camp or elsewhere – there will be consequences.Now this is a very well made film, period detail is great etc. The make up is all good and the acting is generally very good. Caleb Landry Jones as Percy Hapgood though struck me as miscast – his accent is unplacable (perhaps as he is American?); he does the emotion well but seems a bit unhinged – which may indeed have been the point. David Thewlis is probably the most stand out performance as the irritatingly unlikeable Bradley – and shows how broad his acting abilities are. Overall though a very good film and if you were a fan of the original, then you will probably want to see – but the jokes are much thinner on the ground here, but it still has a vibrancy that evokes the time and the passion in an endearing way.

I am a huge fan of Hope and Glory and had high hopes for Queen and Country. The entire experience of the new film was very flat. It was like taking a cross country trip focused on making exactly the same distance every day and staying in safe hotels. Nothing stood out, except possibly some bad (over?) acting. Most of the cast was adequate, but Caleb Landry Jones and Aimee-Ffion Edwards mostly just over-acted, as did almost everyone playing someone in a position of authority in the military. Of course, dealing with a plot that made little sense probably did not help. The best part of the film takes place on the water where Callum Turner does a nice job of making us believe it was his natural habitat mostly by becoming more confident instead of the fish-out-of-water he usually is (that is about as deep as this moving gets). Unfortunately, there were also some lame scenes of filming on the water that also added nothing. The only good news for my wife and me is that one of our tickets was free, so we only wasted half as much money.

The post-war period often seems like a bit of a black hole for films. Aside from the films made at the time which dealt with the issues the population faced, most notably Italian Neorealism, contemporary films prefer to explore the actual conflict themselves. More drama is to be found there. But while World War II was 'the' war, the conflict never really stopped, and Britain still had mandatory military service at the age of 18, with deployment to Korea for their civil war a real proposition. This is what John Boorman focuses on for what is probably his final film, and a sequel to his most famous work, the 1987 mildly autobiographical piece Hope And Glory.We are told the story of Bill, a young boy in the first film. He has grown up into quite the strapping young fellow, and he received his notice for mandatory army service. There he quickly befriends Percy, and a bond forms. But this bond is hardly the centre of the film. It stretches far beyond that, as Bill deals with the army, love and his family. This is all well paced handled by Boorman, who is probably best known, aside from Hope And Glory, for directing Deliverance. The acting is quite spotty on a case by case basis, Callum Turner does very well as the protagonist Bill Rohan, but you can't help but think he was constantly being overshadowed by a couple of doses of overacting. Being manic or excitable is all well and good, but there occasions where people were channelling their inner Joker or Harley Quinn. On the subject of acting, David Thewlis (of Harry Potter fame) is present and he is phenomenal, one of my favourite acting performances of the year.Furthermore, the script isn't perfect either. There were too many logical inconsistencies, especially early on, where background character information is introduced in very lazy ways, usually dialogue. It's frustrating to see two characters talking to each other about things they clearly already know, and that it's only for the audience's benefit. What is best about the film is that it tells the story of war really well. This was something a film like Fury really fell short at, relying on clichés to tell a heroic story. Even though there are very few scenes of combat, Queen And Country definitely gets right what Fury got wrong, showing the horrors of war, what it does to people and how anyone can be a victim or a casualty. That goes a long way in my book.Read more at rabsi1.weebly.com/film/

Watching "Queen and Country" was for me the equivalent of watching a proper and deserved sequel to "Aliens" (1986), written and directed nearly 30 years later by its creator, James Cameron. And even with a completely different cast, you realize that the beloved main characters from the original classic are essentially the same. Only 10 years more mature. When John Boorman directed "Hope and Glory" (released just a year after "Aliens"), I, at age 16, decided it was and would always be one of my favorite movies. And when in 2014 I knew that, 27 years later, he would release a sequel, I WAS IN HEAVEN. And after watching twice - at the 2014 edition of the Mostra International de Cinema de São Paulo - I can say with relief that all the effort Mr. Boorman had to complete this film was not in vain, quite the contrary. And he has said - at age 81 - that this was his last film. A pity. Because the Rowan family deserves at least a trilogy. Main points of my review: Callum Turner convinces both as the adult version of the main character from the first film, Bill Rowan (the Director in its infancy) and also of his original actor, Sebastian Rice-Edwards, one of those rare cases of a gifted actor who had a role only in life, and made ​​him so special. Turner may not have been a great boat handler as convincing as Edwards (heh), but otherwise, he is Billy Rowan. And not an impersonator. IMHO, Caleb Landry Jones (Percy, Billy's best friend in the Army) was one of the best young actors in the amazing cast of "X-Men First Class" (hence my disappointment to learn that his character was killed in "X- Men, Days of Future Past"). In this movie, he alternates between "too much" and "awesome much" (as the Heath Ledger's Joker. Yes I caught thinking myself several times how he would make a great Joker). Maybe he was driven to exaggeration by the director, maybe the actual friend was "just like that". BTW, I'd love to see him in a Terry Gilliam film since Terry understands "crazy" (in a good way). Interestingly, he's a Texan actor playing British characters very well. Tamsin Egerton is really the face of royalty and tragic beauty. She also played Guienevere in a TV series ("Camelot"). When her eyes smile, momentarily leaving behind the perennial state of sadness, you're also quite fond of her. At 26, she has the world ahead to conquer for sure. With the exception of David Hayman who repeats the role of Billy's father, the rest of the protagonist's family has renewed the cast. The mother and older sister were replaced by another actresses (again, the actors may change but they are essentially the same characters). My biggest disappointment was with Billy's grandfather. Ian Bannen (who died in 1999) was a FORCE OF NATURE, stealing nearly every scene in which he appeared. But in the second session, I began to be content with what I had, maybe the director has opted for someone more like his original grandfather. However, the film does not explain the disappearance of the sister of Billy, Sue (or I wasn't paying enough attention). The military characters are all treated with respect and consideration (for a change, they are not stereotypes, but actual human beings). Fortunately, the film picks up, with decency and tenderness, forbidden romance between Billy's mother and Mac (the father's best friend), one of the best things from the first movie. Also, fortunately, it shows something that was only suggested in "Hope and Glory": the love of cinema, from the characters mentioning classic movies and directors and the connection of filmmaking with the idyllic river. And fortunately again, the river also reappears: after all, is special as the other members of the Rowan family. Music: as in "The Private Life of Sherlock Holmes" by Billy Wilder, the theme song evokes the tragic main lady. Here, the theme of Ophelia. On the Wilder's film, Gabrielle. And I only realized, of course, the second time I watched. Editing: the film manages to give us time jumps at the right pace, you realize the plot moving and the characters maturing. And does not care to leave it all explained to the viewer (like the scene in the hospital where - SPOILERS - Billy sees his first great passion for the last time). Despite wishing for a sequel - mostly to keep track of what happened (SPOILERS again) between Percy and Dawn - "Queen and Country" is a worthy ending for all these wonderful, old and new, characters. Thank you, Mr. Boorman.