Movie Topic

[Peter Nenadovich]

Long have I wondered why Canada can't make a decent film about her military history. I compare us to Australia. Similar size, must compete with the monster that is Hollywood... yet the Australian film industry has turned out some of the best films dealing with "war" anywhere. Take the film Gallipoli - a truly great movie that manages to capture all the elements of war - comaraderie, tragedy, patriotism - a searing event in a colonial nation's history. Then, think of the CBC's production of "Dieppe" - Canada's own disastrous baptism (in Europe anyway). Gallipoli managed to make you feel the motivations of the soldiers, Dieppe simply spent too much time wallowing in the decisions made at the top - with a token group of Johnny Canucks to identify with. I still shudder at the memory of their depiction of the actual raid itself.

I feel that the new yardstick for depicting the experience of ground combat in WW ll is "Band of Brothers". Part of what made that work, apart from the 100 million dollar budget was the miniseries format. By watching the story span the war in Europe from D-Day to VE -day you had a better appreciation for the level of attrition as these characters endure there time on the line.

What would I like to see in a two hour format? I'd really like to see a decent depiction of Dieppe. Can anyone think of a really good Canadian production on our involvement in WWll? It certainly isn't for a lack of talent in the Canadian film industry - one of the two cinematographers on BoB was a Canadian, Joel Ransom.



Peter Nenadovich