Blitz (#615)


Most, if not all of you, may be unaware of the term blitz.  It was a massive and incredibly destructive bombing attack on the cities and towns of the United Kingdom in World War II.  Originally conducted during the daytime, it was moved to night thanks to the brilliant efforts of the Royal Air Force in fending  off the German air force, the Luftwaffe.  So, the film I saw yesterday is historical in nature in brutally depicting the Blitz but it is much more than that.  In telling the story of the misery of the people in the midst of this daily and nightly pummeling, it is a film filled with drama, sadness and evil.  it is the story of George, a 9-year old, racially mixed boy, who objects strenuously to his mother's desire to send him for safety to the country to avoid the bombing—a very popular practice in England at the time. On the train, George, the subject of racial barbs, jumps off the train and embarks on a journey to go home to his mother.  The journey is plagued with events of all kind, including a Dickensian period in which George is abducted by some bad 'uns capitalizing on the blitz to send George and other children to go into bombed out homes and steal valuables from the dead bodies.  BLITZ is a fine film with a strong message about racism, well acted, particularly by George and his mother Rita, played by Saoirse Ronan, with authentic scenes of chaos, but dulled a little by confusing changes of time that made no sense.  79% of critics and 70% of audiences gave Blitz a thumbs up too.

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