warfilmman
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Dark Blue World
Dark Blue World - 2001
If you look at the user reviews on IMDB Dark Blue World is compared by many to its Hollywood counterpart Pearl Harbour released in the same year. But where Pearl Harbour is a carnival of CGI explosions and jaw-dropping action sequences, Dark Blue World is a beautiful film albeit with a similar subject matter produced for 10% of the budget, but many more times superior. It concerns two Czech patriots who after their homeland is overrun in 1939 escape to England to fly Spitfires with the Royal Air Force. The Czech Squadron they join is on reserve status and it is weeks before the mistrustful RAF Commanders give them any combat missions. Franta and Karel are superb flyers, and after a sticky start become expert fighter pilots. Later they both fall in love with the same English woman Susan, who’s husband has been missing in action for over a year. The film is actually told in flashback from 1950 where Franta the older of the two pilots is imprisoned in Communist Czechoslovakia. This was the fate of all the returning pilots, who were viewed as dangerous subversives by the Communists. Though released in the early fifties the pilots were treated as criminals, their wartime deeds were kept under wraps until 1991. The Czech leads are superb and the subtitles and switching back and forth from Czech to English and German languages didn’t distract me at all. Tara Fitzgerald is wonderful as Susan, and Charles Dance props up the cast in a Group Captain’s role that 40 years previously would have been Trevor Howard’s.
The film is attractively shot, never has the Spitfire looked more beautiful, the ME109 more menacing. Only 2 flying Spits were used, the big scenes being either achieved with CGI or by using altered footage from The Battle of Britain. There are minor details incorrect about the aircraft, but not enough to worry anyone but the most obsessive aviation nerd. Franta and Karel are clearly based on two wartime Czech aces and each wear the original Czech wings of wartime pilots. The two best flying sequences are an attack on a French military train (a real train was shot up during filming), and Karel’s crash landing in a French field.
Though a 21st century film, Dark Blue World has much more in common in style with films from the 1940s sitting more comfortably alongside A Guy Named Joe or The Way To The Stars than it does the very Hollywoody Pearl Harbour. The soundtrack consists mostly of wartime piano tunes in Czech played by Oldrich Kaiser, who nearly steals the film as Malchty a moustachioed lothario and friend to Franta and Karel. The title Dark Blue World is taken from one of the tunes.
The film’s message is simple but subtle – true friendship cannot be destroyed by love, war or even death. Though they fall out over Susan, Franta and Karel are destined to remain friends forever. Franta’s other friends and loves either die, marry or leave him. Even Franta’s faithful dog ultimately leaves him.
This film is both exciting, funny and touching and is about the best example of film as art I have seen in a long time.
You need neither 100s of millions, or a pop soundtrack to make a classic war film, you need only a good story, good acting and a touch of genius. The father and son team of Zdenek and Jan Sverak gave this movie all three. Such a shame it was never seen by a wide audience.
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2/12/2005, 2:57 am
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TCUNC76
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Re: Dark Blue World
Great review of this very unrated film and I consider this one a real gem in my collection and I can't even remember seeing it advertised at all during its run in the states at the cinema. I love the extras and showing the Spitfire flying in various scenes, like the attack on the German train. Great flying by the pilots at Duxford in this movie. What happened to these brave Czech pilots & patriots after war was very sad. I need to do some addition reading here to see if the British & American governments knew how these men were being treated and challanged the Soviets to release them from these work camps. The inflight scenes of Spitfire's in action is simply amazing! What computer's can do today to enhance action segments is a wonder!
TC
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2/12/2005, 10:02 am
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