Between September 7th, 1940 and May 11th, 1941, the Nazis carried out an intense bombing campaign in London and other strategic cities across Britain.
The offensive came to be known as the Blitz (after the German word for lightning war – blitzkrieg).
During the Blitz, 1.25 million British living in urban centres, more than half of them children, were evacuated by train to safer areas.
Blitz, the movie, is about an attempt to send to the countryside one such nine-year-old boy and the consequences of having done so.
It is September 1940.
George (Elliott Heffernan) lives with his widowed mum Rita (Saoirse Ronan) and his grandfather Gerald (Paul Weller).
The situation in London is worsening.
Air raid warnings are becoming all too common, as is trying to find shelter when the sirens wail and the underground rail system is closed.
Urged by Gerald to act, Rita makes the heartbreaking decision to send George away.
Only George doesn’t take the move well.
An hour into his journey, he ditches his one small suitcase and jumps off the train.
Determined to make his way back home, he is forced to confront a series of dangers.
He has many close calls, as peril appears at almost every turn.
Bombs are dropping all around him.
Many ignore him, some show kindness, while others take advantage.
Meanwhile, when Rita – who works in a factory making bombs – finds out that George didn’t make it to his intended destination, she is distraught.
Thereafter, she begins a desperate search to be reunited with him.
Blitz is a follow-up to writer and director Steve McQueen’s (Widows) episodic wartime documentary Occupied City.
Uncertainty and fear are ever present, as is resourcefulness and a will to survive.
Time and again, racism rears its ugly head, as George is the product of a black father and a white mother.
As the story unfolds, we learn more about his history through flashbacks.
Included in that is Rita’s courtship with George’s father and what happened to him.
The depictions of war, of destruction and out of control fires is truly frightening.
While initial close ups set the unrelenting tone, a series of wide shots captures the full devastation.
Newcomer Elliott Heffernan is a natural performer, who impresses with his grit and resolve.
Saoirse Ronan (Foe) displays uneasiness, determination, shock and joie de vivre with dexterity, as she transitions Rita from mother to daughter, to lover.
Among those with greatest impact is Benjamin Clémentine, who plays selfless warden Ife and takes George under his wing.
Stephen Graham imbues greedy thief Albert with deranged menace.
McQueen excels in breaking down the bigger picture – the broad canvas of the impact of the Blitz – to the vicissitudes of a youngster of fortitude.
Playing at ACMI in Melbourne at 6.30pm on Saturday, 4th January, 2025 and streaming on Apple TV+, Blitz scores a 7½ out of 10.
Comentários