The Railway Man
dir. Jonathan Teplitzky (2013)
After disguising its intent with a quirky, rom-com affable opening, The Railway Man slips into a mix of astutely played modern drama and harrowing WWII POW historical remembrance. The brutality of the latter seeds the emotional clout of Lomax and Nagase’s reconciliation.
Godzilla Minus One
dir. Takashi Yamazaki (2023) [subtitled]
![Film poster: “Godzilla Minus One” dir. Takashi Yamazaki (2023) [subtitled]](https://www.derelictspacesheep.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/12/Godzilla-Minus-One.png)
Well-acted (insofar as subtitled performances can be judged by a monolingual English viewer). The story has a refreshing depth beyond its monster element, emotionally engaging to the extent that Godzilla’s poorly anger-managed on-land demolition stomps can hang in suspended disbelief as allegory.
BBC War Reports, World War Two: On Air
narrated by Richard Baker (AudioGO, 2010)
Recorded speeches and BBC radio reports, often recorded live at the scene of military operations, linked and contextualised to present an unfolding narrative of the Second World War. Notable for its sense of immediacy and earnest commitment to including the listening public.
The Case of the Gilded Fly
by Edmund Crispin (Victor Gollancz, 1944); audiobook read by Paul Panting (HarperCollins, 2017)
Crispin’s quasi-humorous style (satirically intended but sordidly directed) comes across merely as tiresome. The mystery’s ‘ingenious’ solution proves elusive mostly due to being ludicrously improbable and thoroughly reliant on coincidences. Gervase Fen, though a striking protagonist, doesn’t appear for the first quarter.
Johnny and the Bomb
by Terry Pratchett (Doubleday, 1996); audiobook read by Richard Mitchley (BBC Audiobooks, 1997)
Pratchett gifts middle-grade readers the perfect introduction to time travel, albeit that his mid-1990s ‘now’ is itself receding into history, in rapid pursuit of the Second World War ‘then’. Thought-provoking and wryly funny, with memorable characters and a rich vein of dialogue.
The Guernsey Literary and Potato Peel Pie Society
by Mary Ann Shaffer & Annie Barrows (Dial Press, 2008)
audiobook read by Paul Boehmer, Susan Duerden, Rosalyn Landor, John Lee, and Juliet Mills (Random House Audio, 2008)
An epistolary novel, rich in characterisation and engaging both for its historical content (recollections of the German occupation of Guernsey) and as a study in community and friendships. The audiobook is blessed with several different readers, which helps keep the characters distinct.
The Brisbane Line
by Hugh MacMaster (Rockhampton, 2000); audiobook read by Graham Webster (QNS Audio, 2002
A locally produced account of Australia’s controversial Second World War defence strategy and the historical circumstances from which it arose. MacMaster succeeds admirably in detailing Australia’s war efforts and providing the global context of military mismanagement, clandestine manoeuvring and self-interested political short-sightedness.
The Captain [German: Der Hauptmann]
dir. Robert Schwentke (2018) [Subtitled]
A German deserter in the final weeks of the Second World War stumbles upon the uniform of a Luftwaffe captain and assumes his identity. A tense, grimly realised true story that unflaggingly defies audience expectation of some high-minded purpose behind the deception.