Review
The Windemere Children (Drama, History) (2020)
Director: Michael Samuels
Writers: Simon Block
Stars: Thomas Kretschmann, Iain Glen, Marcel Sabat, Tim McInnerny.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
After World War II in 1945 Jewish children were transported to the UK to recover from the harrowing experiences of the war, The Windemere Children focuses on this recovery process and the children reacclimatising to the world as it is after the war has ended.
It’s not often we get to see war movies like this; that’s why I listed the genre as a History movie and not necessarily war since it’s all about the aftermath. Having never heard of this happening, not that it surprised me that these things happened after the war, but it’s not something you tend to think about in the current day and age. It was fascinating to realise how things like this would’ve happened, and The Windemere Children tries to represent it in the best possible way while not sacrificing the realities of the situation; Whether that’s people not understanding or the emotional outbreaks with these kids stuck in their head with the trauma of the war.
Throughout the film, there’s a big mix of Polish and English spoken language, and it worked very well. We’ve all seen movies where it is based in Germany for example, and somehow everyone just speaks American English, that’s just not the case with The Windemere Children they arrive from a foreign country, so they talk their native language… And the director simply used it like the most normal thing there is because that’s true to the material... You won’t travel to Spain as an American and just be able to speak English with everyone because that just does not happen. Would make travelling a lot easier but it’s just not reality.
Along with the languages spoken the cast of young actors fit perfectly in their roles, these children are the focus of the film as they should be but are supported by the actors cast as the counsellors, who seem almost perfectly balanced maybe with the exception of one or two supporting roles in the movie every single character got a couple good scenes or dialogue in there.
Besides everything already said, the cinematography is very well done, and all the sets just fit into place. Some great shots are perhaps unnecessary, but they deepen the film so much. From all this, it sounds like it’s a perfect film, and I’ll have to say it is not but you’d have a hard time naming the negatives.
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _
Verdict:
Historic war drama done right.
8,1
