Monday, February 25, 2019

Romancefest 2019: Testament of Youth

Directed by James Kent
Written by Juliette Towhidi, based on the memoir by Vera Brittain
Starring Alicia Vikander, Kit Harrington, Taron Egerton and Colin Morgan
U.K., 2014

In this World War I drama, a young woman dreams of breaking out of her traditional life and attending Oxford with her brother and his friends. Unfortunately, as soon as she achieves this goal, the war breaks out. Her brother and his friends find themselves on the front lines while she devotes herself to a career as a nurse, first in the relative safety of England and later on the front lines, herself. Throughout it all, she pursues a doomed relationship with her childhood friend, who is on the Italian Front.

This was a hard watch as the misery was unrelenting. But, that is undoubtedly how life was for the people who found themselves destroyed by the World War, and this movie doesn’t shy away from it. What’s really interesting is to see the story play out through the point of view of a woman – a point of view we often don’t get to see when it comes to war stories. Although this is told partly through the losses of loved ones she suffers, she is also an active participant in the war, and eventually, an activist for peace.

No comments:

Post a Comment