Jan 29th  
I Thank You**  
(GB 1941)
Gaumont British. 83m. bw

A couple of music hall comedians wheedle their way into a former star singer's house to help put on a wartime revue.                                   
Star comedy vehicle with an excellent supporting cast and an interesting feelgood flavour for the realities of the time (the opening number takes place in a London Underground station shelter.)

Written by: Marriott Edgar, Val Guest.
Producer: Edward Black.
Director: Marcel Varnel.
Starring: Arthur Askey, Richard Murdoch, Lily Morris, Graham Moffatt, Moore Marriott, Felix Aylmer, Kathleen Harrison, Wally Patch, Roberta Huby.
Photography: Arthur Crabtree.
Music: Noel Gay.

Jan 23rd
1917** (15) 
(Curzon Colchester)                                               

(GB/US 2019)
Dreamworks/Reliance/New Republic/Mogambo/Neal Street. 119m. ws

In WWI two soldiers face a perilous journey across the battlefields to warn their fellow soldiers about a planned offensive that is walking into a trap.
A 100-year old war given a 21st century perspective; capably made with some vivid scenes, and a few judicious uses of passing bushes and people to smother the effect of an attempted single take 2-hour film. The story and performances ultimately overcome the technique.

Written by: Sam Mendes, Krysty Wilson-Cairns.
Producers: Sam Mendes, Jayne-Ann Tenggren, Callum McDougall, Brian Oliver.
Director: Sam Mendes.
Starring: Dean-Charles Chapman, George McKay, Colin Firth, Andrew Strong, Benedict Cumberbatch, Claire Dubocq, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden.
Photography: Roger Deakins.
Music: Thomas Newman.
Production Design: Dennis Gassner.

Jan 18th
Jojo Rabbit** (12A)

(Curzon Colchester)

(US/Czech/New Zealand 2019)
Fox Searchlight/TSG/Defender Films/Piki Films. 108m.

A misfit Hitler Youth (with his own Adolf for imaginary best friend) comes to terms with his feisty mother hiding a Jewish child as the war clouds darken.
Generally winning mixture of satire and sentiment, ultimately a rather touching study of a 10 year old's innocent perspective, taken a good part in style from The Great Dictator, and one or two others, but generally slicker. In the current climate of Trump's America, an interesting observation of fanaticism from within, whilst also leaving time to have a more detached humanist perspective.

Written and Directed by: Taika Waititi.
Producers: Cathew Neal, Taiki Waititi, Chelsea Winstanley.
Starring: Roman Griffin Davis, Taiki Waititi, Scarlett Johansson, Sam Rockwell, Thomasin McKenzie, Stephen Merchant, Rebel Wilson, Archie Yates.
Photography: Mihai Malaimare Jnr.
Music: Michael Giacchino.

+ closing quote: "Let everything happen to you. Beauty and terror, just keep going. No feeling is final." (Rilke)

                           

Jan 7th  
Thunder Rock***   
(GB 1942)       
MGM/Charter Films. 112m.

A lighthouse keeper isolates himself from the world conflict and takes comfort in the ghosts of a previous generation who were shipwrecked, who help him face up to present realities.
Excellent supernatural drama speaking out against isolationism in WWII (although it speaks oddly relevantly to today's Trumpist climate as well), with multi-perspective flashbacks, allowing both characters and performances to develop with extra dimension.

Written by: Bernard Miles, Jeffrey Dell, based on the play by Robert Ardrey.
Producer: John Boulting.
Director: Roy Boulting.
Starring: Michael Redgrave, Finlay Currie, James Mason, Lilli Palmer, Frederick Valk, Barbara Mullen, Frederick Cooper, Barry Morse, Miles Malleson, A.E. Matthews.
Photography: Mutz Greenbaum (Max Greene).
Music: Hans May.

+ the original play by Robert Ardrey was first set and performed in the US in 1939 and flopped - it later transferred to London at the beginning of WWII and chimed with the mood perfectly and became a critical and financial success. It was revealed after the war that the Government had funded the continuation of the production in the West End once theatres had been reopened, in spite of the threat of bombings during the Blitz. Michael Redgrave and Frederick Valk were among the original cast who reprised their roles for the film.

THUNDER ROCK (1942). Michael Redgrave vainly appeals to a disinterested British public not to submit to fascism. Sounds familiar?