“OH, WHAT A LOVELY WAR?”

By Raymond Benson

Filmmaker John Boorman was between the ages of six and twelve during World War II, and in 1987 he released a fictional “memoir” of a film based on his childhood recollections of what life was like on the home front in Britain while the conflict raged. By most of the media and promotional materials, Hope and Glory was billed as a “comedy”—in fact, it won the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture Musical or Comedy (and it was also nominated for the Oscar Best Picture and Director).

Whether it truly is a comedy or not is up for debate. There are indeed humorous moments as we follow the days through the eyes of young Billy Rowan (played with empathy and intelligence by child actor Sebastian Rice-Edwards) as he navigates the bombed-out neighborhood where he and his family live, runs around with the unruly gang of young lads who terrorize the locality by collecting shrapnel, undetonated bombs and bullets, and rebel against schoolmasters and teachers who are attempting to enforce discipline and order in chaotic times. The film also displays some of the horrors—people losing their homes after a blitz, the economic downturn and rationing, the vacancy of a father who has gone off to fight, and the overall pandemonium inflicted on the people.

Nevertheless, Hope and Glory is an uplifting, positive statement that almost resembles the type of propaganda documentaries that Britain produced at the time (e.g. London Can Take It). The film seems to say, “we can get through this, no matter how long it lasts,”—and as this Blu-ray edition is being reviewed at the beginning of April 2020, when the world is under the thumb of a global pandemic, the picture is a welcome message of encouragement.

As an ensemble piece, the movie illustrates what the suburban middle-class home in Britain was like. Clive, the father (David Hayman), pops in whenever he gets a brief furlough, and leaves the household to be run by his wife Grace (Sarah Miles), who does the best she can. The oldest daughter, Dawn (Sammi Davis), is a handful—fifteen, stubborn, and insubordinate, she has eyes for the men, especially a Canadian soldier who manages to get her pregnant. Young Billy has a younger sister as well, and there are aunts around them with husbands who may or may not be around, such as Uncle Mac (Derrick O’Connor), who was apparently once attached to Grace before she married Clive. Grandpa George (Ian Bannen) is cantankerous and bitter, but he is well off enough to host the family at his home in the country when the Rowans’ house burns to the ground.

In many ways, Hope and Glory resembles Woody Allen’s Radio Days, which was released the same year. Both pictures highlight two perspectives on opposite sides of the Atlantic, although the latter is decidedly played for laughs and the former delivers moments of solemnity.

Olive Films’ new high definition restoration looks absolutely beautiful—crystal clear, sharp, and colorful. There are optional English subtitles for the hearing impaired, but otherwise no supplements.

Hope and Glory may not be a cure for what ails us now, but it is certainly a feel-good dose of medicine in these troubled times. Highly recommended.

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