Beamafilm Viewing for ANZAC Day

Lest we forget, here are a few of the war-themed offerings you can watch on the Library’s free movie streaming service, Beamafilm.

25 April is an animated documentary feature that screened to acclaim at the Toronto Film Festival and which focuses on the New Zealand experience at Gallipoli. With the flavour of a graphic novel, it’s a powerful story that describes the events through the eyes of six strangers, inspired by war diaries.

Vera Britten’s classic memoir Testament of Youth was published in 1933, and describes the author’s experiences as a battlefield nurse during WWI, and the friends and lovers she lost to the war. The 2014 movie adaptation is a stirring invective against the futility of war, and stars Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington and Taaron Egerton.

Poziers is the name of the small town in France that was also the site of one of the bloodiest battles in World War I. Key to the success of the Battle for the Somme, the town was captured by Australian forces, who in seven weeks were to suffer 23,000 casualties. The movie is a docudrama based on real people’s experiences, the men in battle, as well as those left at home, and stars David Tredinnick and Helen Morse.

100 Days to Victory is a mini-series that describes how the Allies turned the tide in the final months of 1918 to win World War I. It focuses on the bravery and heroism, the novel tactics and ingenuity of those responsible for building a response to the German offensive. What transpired was the development of an “all arms warfare” that has continued to be used today.

The Lighthorsemen is a classic 1987 movie about a unit of cavalrymen, in particular Frank, Scotty, Chiller and Tas, who serve in Palestine together during WWI. It focuses on the British plan to capture Beersheba, sending in the Australian Light Horse. What was thought to be a suicide mission is an unexpected success, leading to the capture of Jerusalem by the Allies.

Dancing in the Sky is a documentary that describes the extraordinary heroism of William Rhodes Moorhouse – the first airman as well as the first Maori to be given the Victoria Cross. In filming the documentary, fledgling film-maker Julian Arahanga was committed to historical accuracy, including use of a replica of the BE2 Bleriot – the same model flown by Rhodes-Moorhouse on the mission that earned him the VC.

Anne Frank: Parallel Stories is the 2019 docu-drama narrated by Helen Mirren. It follows the young #KaterinaKat making her own Anne Frank pilgrimage, which takes her to the Bergen-Belsen camp where Anne died. There are also the stories of five surviving children of the Holocaust who are shown with their grandchildren, creating connections between the past and present.

Lore is a historical drama based on the novel, The Dark Room by Rachel Seiffert. We’re in Germany during the aftermath of WWII, where five children make the long, precarious journey to their grandmother’s home after the arrest of their parents. They are joined by Thomas, a young survivor of a concentration camp, who helps them. Lore is the eldest girl, who has the difficult responsibility of seeing her family to safety.

Nancy Wake: Gestapo’s Most Wanted is the story of the “White Mouse”, the New Zealand born SOE operative who defied the Nazis in war-torn France. After helping the French Resistance, she then worked as a spy for the British and in 1944, parachuted into France ahead of the D-Day landings. This docu-drama combines gripping reenactments alongside interviews with Wake’s closest friends, as well as military historians, to bring her story to life.

Operation Mincemeat describes the true story of the 1943 British plan to fool the Germans about the Allied invasion of Sicily. Concocted in part by Ian Fleming (who later penned the James Bond series of books), the idea was to drop a corpse with false papers off the coast of Spain detailing that the invasion would take place via Greece. It is an inspiring and at times whimsical movie starring Colin Firth, Matthew Macfadyen and Johnny Flynn.

The Telegraph Man is the recipient of 50 awards, a classic Australian film exploring the impact of WWII on the lives of one small farming community. With all the young men off fighting, Bill is an older postal worker, tasked with delivering the telegrams that people dread. A moving short film starring legendary Australian actor, Jack Thompson.

While the above selection focuses on World War I and World War II, but you can explore other war stories – all available for you to watch for free on Beamafilm

16 April 2024

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