Although made several years ago, I had not seen this film until it was screened at Christmas in 2007 and took the opportunity to see it. In several regards it is not that great a film and the thing that hit me most consistently about it in terms of weaknesses is the fact that the structure seems a bit messy. This was weird because it had a ready-made structure by taking a chronological approach to the material but perhaps it has come about due to the ambition of trying to cover so much ground.
OK so the bits between the various Christmases during WWII are summarised but it is still quite ambitious to try and sum up years of experiences in 90 minutes. What it does do very well though is to capture people and period. It does this by heavily utilising pictures and film from the time as well as getting solid contributions from a handful of people. The effect is to see into a period with real clarity and a sense of proximity even though people of my generation in the West will never have to experience anything like the hardships experienced in WWII (and for that matter the many, many worse situations around the world today). This is what drives the film forward and made me interested it in. Bennett's narration is surprisingly lifeless and I had not expected that from him particularly where the film relates to the experiences of real people; fortunately he is sparingly used as a narrator anyway.
Overall then a good documentary in the way that it takes the viewer to the time and place that it is covering. The archive footage and selection of contributors are well chosen and utilised to cover up the weakness that I felt were in the structure and narrator-led delivery and it is worth seeing for the former despite the latter.
OK so the bits between the various Christmases during WWII are summarised but it is still quite ambitious to try and sum up years of experiences in 90 minutes. What it does do very well though is to capture people and period. It does this by heavily utilising pictures and film from the time as well as getting solid contributions from a handful of people. The effect is to see into a period with real clarity and a sense of proximity even though people of my generation in the West will never have to experience anything like the hardships experienced in WWII (and for that matter the many, many worse situations around the world today). This is what drives the film forward and made me interested it in. Bennett's narration is surprisingly lifeless and I had not expected that from him particularly where the film relates to the experiences of real people; fortunately he is sparingly used as a narrator anyway.
Overall then a good documentary in the way that it takes the viewer to the time and place that it is covering. The archive footage and selection of contributors are well chosen and utilised to cover up the weakness that I felt were in the structure and narrator-led delivery and it is worth seeing for the former despite the latter.
