In the only part of Britain occupied by the Nazis during WWII, the nightmare began in June 1940. Hitler’s army invaded the defenseless Channel Islands and held its residents hostage for five years.
What would any of us do if we had to live side by side with the enemy? This Masterpiece Theatre drama draws on the real experiences of Channel Islanders as the hostile Nazi command imposed its will on every aspect of their daily lives. Set on the fictional island of St. Gregory, the story of the occupation is told through the eyes of three families. Heart-pounding suspense and unexpected romance unfold in an atmosphere suffused with the moral ambiguity of war. Starring James Wilby (Gosford Park), Clare Holman (Prime Suspect 6), Philip Glenister (Calendar Girls), and Saskia Reeves (Dune). Recommended for mature audiences.
Island at War turns a little-known bit of history into an extraordinarily rich miniseries. During World War II, the Nazi forces occupied the Channel Islands, located between France and England. Island at War unfolds on the fictional island of St. Gregory, where a web of interconnected characters cope with the occupation–a politician struggles to maintain peaceful relations, for fear of brutal reprisals; an island policeman’s anger at the occupation becomes complicated when he’s forced to chauffeur the commanding Nazi officer and he discovers the position gives his family privilege; a shopkeeper, angry about her husband’s death in an early bombing raid, finds herself sharing in profits with a Nazi official as they bring much-wanted food and supplies to the island; a girl hiding her Jewish identity becomes the object of a brutal lieutenant’s sexual obsession. These four stories are only a hint of the series’ fullness; the script, direction, and performances are superb, building an engrossing portrait of how human beings cope with extremity and how the smallest of interactions–from laying rocks on a wall to getting a photograph developed–can lead to profound and unexpected results. The economy and complexity of Stephen Mallatratt’s script are remarkable. The forces of money, sex, prejudice, and love run deep through every story, juxtaposing private moments with historical scope. Island at War matches skill and talent with passion and insight. –Bret Fetzer
List Price: $ 59.99
Price: $ 35.35
Related Blogs
- Related Blogs on Island
December 10, 2010
#1
Excellent production, but be aware that…,
This BBC series is well written and well acted, and the Isle of Man location works perfectly as a substitute for the Channel Islands, but I would caution buyers that the series ends a bit abruptly, still in mid-war, with many plotlines dangling and unresolved. This is not a little frustrating, and causes me to subtract a star from what I would otherwise be inclined to award. The problem is one of conception — this program was originally designed to continue for a second series, so the first batch of episodes ties up one plotline while leaving the rest in stasis as cliffhangers to draw viewers back for more. Bad idea! This is what I was told by my local PBS station: The series was evidently not as well received in the UK as hoped for and a second series was never produced. To make things worse, the screenwriter died. This leaves us with, unfortunately, a fascinating story with a very fine beginning and middle but no true ending. I suspect other viewers will be equally disappointed. Just like the animated Ralph Bakshi version of The Lord of the Rings story, half a movie is almost worse than no movie at all.
What there is is great, but be prepared to never know what finally happens to most of the chief characters. It’s like sitting down to what looks like a wonderful, lavish meal and then having to leave the table after the first course.
Was this review helpful to you?
|December 10, 2010
#2
Exhibit A For Why The British Make Better TV Than Americans Do,
Island At War sits among the top of the many films that have recently appeared on the subject of the Second World War. Its setting, a fictional channel island called St. Gregory, lies much closer to France than to the British mainland, yet it and the other channel islands are totally British in sympathy, language, and political affiliation. In 1940, St. Gregory is portrayed as being captured by a German expeditionary force, as are the other channel islands, and the proudly British citizens there face an occupation by foreign hostiles. While their countrymen wage brave resistance to the German onslaught, those living on the islands must, willingly or not, submit to their foes. Presenting an interesting example of how a German occupation of the United Kingdom might have been carried out had Operation Sea Lion successfully achieved an undertaking that has otherwise proven impossible since 1066, that of defeating the British at war on their home soil, Island At War makes for the sort of motion picture that quickly and deeply draws in an intelligent viewer.
What makes this 6 ½ hour film so engrossing is not only the realism of its hypothetical answer to the question of how a German occupation of Britain would very probably have gone (stifling but much more respectful than German occupations elsewhere) but it is the depth of the characters presented. Where in other hands this could easily have disintegrated into caricatures of evil, jackbooted Nazis inhumanly repressing a purely good English population, instead we are challenged to see the humanity of both sides. Though often harshly restrictive and almost always haughtily loyal to the cause for which they fight, members of the German occupying force at times act with genuine decency toward the people of St. Gregory. Conversely, some of the locals on the island conduct themselves in ways that are less than honorable. There is also the matter of fraternization. We look on as interaction with an enemy for profit, personal gain, and in some instances out of a true sense of affection becomes increasingly the norm. A local girl reluctantly falls in love with a soft-spoken Luftwaffe navigator. A German officer offers a talented local girl a chance to sing in a soldier’s cabaret, and later defends her against an attack by drunken townsmen. A bitter storekeeper, whose husband’s death in an air raid marked the island’s sole casualty during the invasion, begins a highly profitable black market goods partnership with a well-connected German. The island’s commandant, Baron von Rheingarten, while a proud German officer, is by no means a thuggish Nazi yes-man, and his multi-layered interaction with the Dorr family, St. Gregory’s politically-connected gentry, evolves from initial rivalry to his later showing the deepest act of magnanimity of the entire film. It is all much more of an affront to the convenient black and white wartime morality that is the standard when portraying a story set in this time and place.
Island At War is a truly fine production start to finish that will prove as appealing to a lover of good television as it will to any open-minded individual with an interest in the events of the Second World War.
Was this review helpful to you?
|December 10, 2010
#3
Great story and very interesting perspective on WWII,
Most WWII movies focus on the action in the main theatres of combat. Recently, I purchased an atlas which described what went on around the world during WWII even in countries which the history books didn’t cover. ‘Island at War’ is such a study of the Channel Islands (located between France & England) and delivers a very interesting perspective on WWII while telling the story of several characters. It’s highly recommendable, but I do warn you that it will leave you wishing for more episodes to explain actually what happened to the characters later.
Was this review helpful to you?
|