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Ten Wartime Romances
The
backdrop of war has often provided an epic setting for some of the
greatest romances in cinematic history, as audiences’ appetite for
tragic love stories shows no sign of abating. To celebrate the
release of Testament of Youth, out on digital
platforms from 8th May 2015, and on Blu-ray and DVD from 25th May
2015, courtesy of Lionsgate Home Entertainment,
we take a look at some of the greatest wartime romances to hit the
screen... tissues at the ready!
Testament
of Youth (2014)
Vera
Brittain (Alicia Vikander),
irrepressible, intelligent and free-minded, overcomes the prejudices
of her family and hometown to win a scholarship to Oxford. With
everything to live for, she falls in love with her brother’s close
friend Roland Leighton (Kit Harington)
as they go to University to pursue their literary dreams. But the
First World War is looming and as the boys leave for the front Vera
realises she cannot sit idly by as her peers fight for their country,
so volunteers as a nurse. Both Vikander
and Harington bring a
wonderful playfulness to their initial courtship (with brilliant
comedic support from Joanna Scanlan
as their chaperone), and as the war separates them evolve this
chemistry into something utterly moving.
Cold
Mountain (2003)
This
critically acclaimed wartime epic tells the story of Confederate
soldier Inman (Jude
Law)
who undertakes a perilous journey back home to Cold Mountain, North
Carolina, in order to reunite with his sweetheart, Ada (Nicole
Kidman),
the woman he left behind to fight in the Civil War. Along the way, he
meets a long line of interesting characters, all the while avoiding
the soldiers tasked with hunting deserters. Parallel to his story is
Ada’s, as she struggles to learn the ropes of managing her deceased
father's farm with help from the scatty, no-nonsense Ruby (an
Oscar-winning turn from Renée
Zellweger),
all the while fantasising about the return of her lost love. Kidman
and
Law
spend hardly any screen time together, yet their brilliant, yearning
performances more than make up for this to illustrate their
desperation and longing to reunite.
Birdsong
(2012)
This BBC
mini-series based on Sebastian Faulk’s
novel recounts the life and times of Stephen Wraysford (Eddie
Redmayne). An English soldier fighting in the
trenches of Northern France during WWI, he is continually haunted by
the memories of the French Isabelle (Clémence
Poésy), a married woman he had an affair
with 6 years previously. Redmayne
and Poésy are
perfectly cast as the impetuous lovers, while the backdrop of a balmy
summer in provincial France perfectly captures the claustrophobia and
repression of their predicament
Atonement
(2007)
This
heartbreaking wartime drama based on Ian McEwan’s bestselling novel
boasts a stellar cast, including Keira
Knightley, James McAvoy, Saiorse Ronan,
Benedict Cumberbatch and Vanessa
Redgrave. When the budding romance between
Cecilia Tallis (Knightley)
and Robbie Turner (McAvoy)
is cut brutally short following a lie told by Bryony Tallis (Ronan),
the repercussions span several decades. After choosing the army over
prison, Robbie is stationed at Dunkirk, while Cecilia takes a role as
a nurse in London. Knightley provides
a masterfully reserved turn as the stoic Cecilia, while McAvoy’s
take on the morally upstanding, innocent and fundamentally kind
Robbie is completely heartbreaking – and special mention must be
given to Wright’s
masterful tackling of the novel’s twist ending.
Casablanca
(1942)
This
classic WWII drama, starring Ingrid Bergman
and Humphrey Bogart as
former lovers Rick Blaine and Ilsa Lund, takes place in unoccupied
Casablanca and is responsible for one of the most mis-quoted movie
lines of all time. When the Nazi Major Strasser (Conrad
Veidt) arrives in Casablanca, the sycophantic
police Captain Renault (Claude Rains)
goes above and beyond to appease him- including detaining
Czechoslovak underground leader Victor Laszlo (Paul
Henreid). Lazslo’s partner is Ilsa, who ran
out on Blaine in Paris and left him completely embittered. But when
it transpires that her reasons were honourable, the pair hatch a plan
to run off together again, and pick up where they left off...
The
English Patient (1996)
Anthony
Minghella wrote and directed this multi-award
winning epic based on Michael Ondaatje's novel about a doomed romance
set against the backdrop of WWII. In a field hospital in Italy, nurse
Hana (Juliette Binoche)
is caring for a pilot who was horribly burned in a plane wreck. Hana
determines mid evacuation that the patient shouldn't be moved far due
to his fragile condition, so the two are left in a monastery to be
picked up later. Slowly, she begins to piece together the patient's
story told in flashbacks. She discovers that her charge is in fact
the Hungarian Count Laszlo Almásy (Ralph
Fiennes) –who while mapping unchartered
territory in North Africa, was thrown together with English couple
Geoffrey (Colin Firth)
and Katherine Clifton (Kristin Scott-Thomas)
resulting in an affair which lead him to betray not only his friend,
but his country.
The
End of the Affair (1955)
Adapted
by Lenore
Coffee
from Graham
Greene’s
novel, this classic stars Van
Johnson
as Maurice Bendrix, the clandestine lover of married Sarah Miles
(Deborah
Kerr).
When Maurice disappears during the London blitz, Sarah is overwhelmed
with guilt, feeling that her unfaithfulness has led to Maurice to be
placed in danger. In a fit of desperation she prays for his safe
return, promising to end the affair if only his life is spared... and
the rest is in the title. Featuring wonderfully emotionally complex
performances from all the leads, the film is also notable for a
standout performance from John
Mills,
as the private detective hired by Sarah’s husband Henry (Peter
Cushing)
to keep tabs on her whereabouts.
Gone
with the Wind (1939)
One of the
most beloved movies of all time, and winner of ten Academy Awards,
including for Hattie McDaniel’s
and Vivien Leigh’s
performances, Gone with the Wind follows the life of spoiled,
pampered Southern belle Scarlett O'Hara (Leigh).
After discovering a former beau is engaged, Scarlett’s behaviour
leads her straight into the arms of the wayward Rhett Butler (Clark
Gable), the black sheep of a wealthy
Charleston family, who is instantly fascinated by the spirited,
self-absorbed Scarlett. The movie’s action continues, through the
American Civil War, the burning of Atlanta, Scarlett’s journey from
riches to poverty, and three marriages, all the way to the
now-classic closing line, "Frankly, my dear, I don't give a
damn."
Life
is Beautiful (1997)
This
stunning tragicomedy was directed by Roberto
Benigni and also garnered him a best leading
actor Academy Award. Set in 1939, Benigni
plays Jewish-Italian Guido Orefice working as
a waiter to fund his plans to open a bookshop. When he meets a school
teacher named Dora (Nicoletta Braschi),
his effervescent humour ultimately sweeps her off her feet. On the
fifth birthday of their son Giosué (Giorgio
Cantarini), World War II is in full force,
and since they are Jewish, the Germans take away Guido and Giosué to
a labour camp. Wanting to be with her family, Dora insists she goes
too, but is taken to the women's side of the camp. In an attempt to
protect Giosué from the horror of their situation and ensure they
are not separated, Guido tells him that they are playing a game, in
which he can win points by staying out of sight of the guards. The
first to win 1000 points wins a real tank. Guido's primary goal is to
keep Giosué safe at all cost, while he desperately tries to find out
a way to get his family out of the camp and keep the Germans at bay
before they discover Giosué.
Shining
Through (1992)
David
Seltzer's adaptation of Susan
Issacs' novel is set during WWII, and stars
Melanie Griffith and
Michael Douglas as
work colleagues who ultimately become lovers. When Linda Voss
(Griffith) applies for
a job with international lawyer Ed Leland (Douglas),
he hires her immediately upon discovering she is fluent in German.
He’s an undercover OSS officer in need of a German translator, but
when America enters the war, he abandons his practice to become a
full-time spy. Meanwhile Linda travels to Berlin to infiltrate the
Nazis and find out more about "a bomb that can fly by itself"
... as well as desperately searching for the whereabouts of her
Jewish relatives.
Testament
of Youth is available on digital platforms from 8th May 2015, and on
Blu-ray and DVD from 25th May 2015, courtesy of Lionsgate Home
Entertainment.
