Gander Bay may mean very little to most people.  But World War II, thrust this sleepy Newfoundland port front and center.  Above and Beyond is the dramatization of the  story about the Ferry Service that saved Britain. Britain needed planes.  Shipping them in ships was slow and dangerous due to U-boats. Why not fly them someone suggested.  Impossible.  Yet…and the story continues.  This is a pretty factual, filmed on location, kind of movie.  Made with CBC (Canadian Broadcast Corporation) sponsorship, the movie is nicely written and family friendly as war can be.

Best of all, it gives yet another perspective on the titanic struggle, even in the Canadian Wild.

Note: Picked it up for $3.99 from the local Rite-Aid store.

This British miniseries covers the infamous Colditz (Castle) POW camp.  Colditz made The Great Escape Luft Stalag seem like an open camp. Unlike The Great Escape, Colditz  also covered the secret service that aided allied POWS in escape and evasion.  Like so many British series this is done with class and attention to detail.  There are subplots enough to keep things interesting.  And best of all, the Colditz story is based on historical fact—a fine narrative, both entertaining and informative

A short reference to the Beatles and the “Woods” of the world–Hollywood, Bollywood, Talliwood, etc.  World War II took a terrible toll on Norway.  One of the best ways to get “the overall picture” is by watching Hamsun, a biography of a prominent Norwegian who tries to take the middle way, but instead finds there is no middle way.  The Last Lieutenant brings to light the heroic, yet futile struggle one Norwegian soldier makes as the Nazis invade. They Raid by Night shows the early attempts to fight back against the Nazis with Commandos.  The Heroes of Telemark expand on this theme.  Telemark is much more elaborate than They Raid by Night.  The cast includes Richard Harris and Kirk Douglas.  The movie is also based on historic fact.  Finally there is 633 Squadron.  Once again the Allies need to sabotage the Nazi war effort.  This time the RAF and the Milorg (Norwegian resistance) team up to win the battle.

This movie portrays the personal anguish that war imposes on those “caught in the middle”.  Hamsun was a real life poet/statesman of Norway.  He lived a complex life–estranged from family, caught between the past and present, revered for his nationalism, despised for his relations with facism.  This movie captures the pains and sorrows that war (in this case World War II) brings.  Even the victors are burdened with dispensing justice.  Hamsun is long, drawn out, and very tragic.  But we see how lucky we are not to have faced such devilish choices.