Behind the Lines 1997

     This film is adapted from Pat Barker's first book of a trilogy of three novels titled Regeneration.  It tells the story of the soldiers of World War I sent to an asylum for emotional troubles.  Two of the soldiers meeting there are Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sassoon.  They are also two of England's most important WWI poets.

     Both the novel and the film confront the psychological effects of World War I.  The focus is on treatment methods during the war.  It is also the story of a decorated English officer sent to a military hospital after publicly declaring he will no longer fight.  The novel includes much more than this film and it is written in sparse prose that is shockingly clear.  There are depictions of electronic treatments and they are are particularly harrowing.  There is a combination of real-life characters and events with fictional ones.  It is a work that examines the insanity of war like no other.  There are also issues of class and politics in this compactly powerful book and movie.  3* (This movie is OK)

96 min, Biography directed by Gillies MacKinnon and written by Pat Barker and Alan Scott with Jonathan Pryce, James Wilby, Jonny Lee Miller, Stuart Bunce, Tanya Allen, David Hayman, Dougray Scott, John Neville, Paul Young, Alastair Galbraith, Eileen Nicholas, Julian Fellows, David Robb, Kevin McKidd, Rupert Procter.

Note:  Imdb 7* out of 10* with 2193 reviews, Rotten Tomatoes 60% with 10 critics 80% with 1000+ audience scores, Amazon 3.9* out of 5* with 26 ratings, Letterbox 2.7* out of 5*, Goodreads gives the novel 4.03* out of 5* with 25,936 ratings and 1581 reviews, BBC reviewer’s rating 5* user rating 4* out of 5*, empireonline 4* out of 5*.

Special Note:  A lot of present and former Territorial Army soldiers were used as extras for larger scenes.  Included were soldiers from 52nd Lowland and the 6th Battalion Royal Regiment of Scotland, located in Hotspur street, Glasgow.

Mistakes:  The camera and the crane on which it is suspended are reflected in several puddles during the opening shot of the battlefield.  Sassoon threw his MC ribbon away, not the medal.  The medal is in The Royal Welsh Fusiliers Regimental.