Essentials: WWII In Occupied Europe

World War II has always been a firm favourite in British cinema. It was a nice, clear, black and white conflict between good and evil and many a Sunday afternoon has been spent watching John Mills, Steve McQueen et al putting one over on the Germans. This simple ‘boys-own’ formula endures and even grittier modern efforts such as Saving Private Ryan maintain this uncomplicated ‘men on a mission’ template.

There is ,however, a different side to WWII that is barely considered in English-language cinema: occupation. Guernsey is an island surrounded by memories, both mental and concrete, but apart from recently lambasted television series Island At War, one has to look eastwards to find stories of occupation.

The granddaddy of all occupation dramas has to be Roma, Citta Aperta (Rome, Open City). Shot by Roberto Rossellini on the streets of Rome in early 1945 Roma, Citta Aperta is one of the classics of Italian Neo-Realist Cinema. Whilst it cannot be denied that the film is often melodramatic, this tale of a priest’s defiance has an immediacy that grips from start to shattering finish.

Closer to home is Jean-Pierre Melville’s L’Armee Des Ombres (Army of Shadows). This episodic drama follows a group of fighters in the French Resistance as they mount a covert war against the Third Reich. Treachery, death and espionage are the hallmarks of this sombre epic that feels less like a testimonial to those that fought than a purging of feelings about collaboration and the national scar of Vichy France.

Following a similar line, albeit with a Dutch twist, is Soldaat Von Oranje (Soldier Of Orange). Paul Verhoeven’s film is based on the true story of the experiences of a group of friends throughout the Nazi occupation of Holland. It centres on Erik (played with utter conviction by Rutger Hauer) and his journey from university to the underground and eventually the side of the Dutch Queen. Like L’Armee Des Ombres, Soldaat Von Oranje captures the divisions and hatred caused by military occupation in a manner that can only be described as personal.

Whilst all of these films offer an insight into the hardships of WWII in a way that English speaking cinema rarely does, they do not come close to the literal nightmare experienced by their more easterly allies. If you want to experience the horror of war at the cinema then the closest you can get is the visceral shock of Idi I Smotri (Come And See). Named after a passage in Revelations, this Russian tour-de-force is war as it has never been depicted before or since (the only parallel artistic work that I can think of is the Chapman Brothers’ Hell - link) and every frame, from the cold, accusing eyes that look out from the screen to the SS’s massacre of Perekhody, is utterly captivating. Once seen this film is never forgotten.

…of course these films are the tip of the iceberg of alternative takes on WWII but they are great movies and a nice introduction to another viewpoint.