Ms. Angie Kemp at the Special Collections department at Simpson has agreed to make posters available to see in person on Monday, October 27, from 9:00 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. Special Collections is on the second floor. I urge everyone to take a few minutes to go by that day– this is a wonderful opportunity to see some Great War propaganda first hand, and it’s very generous of the department to open extra hours for us.
In 1915, a group of English soldiers known as the Sandringham Company fought Turkish troops at Gallipoli. This company grew into legend, one of the many “soldiers stories” told during and after the war, such as the Angels of Mons. The company was said to have completely vanished off of the battlefield, taken away by a cloud of mist.
All The King’s Men, directed by Julian Jarrold, tells the story of the Sandringham Company. The film falls into the category of war, drama and mystery, both conforming to and subverting expectations of each. The film is based on the 1992 book “The Vanished Battalion” by co-producer Nigel McCrery. The premise of the film is based on a true story, though many aspects are dramatized for entertainment purposes. The central actor, David Jason, won an award for Best Actor, and the film was put up for two other nominations. The movie was filmed in Britain and Spain as Sandringham and Gallipoli respectively, and it stars actors such as David Jason, Maggie Smith, and David Troughton. The film as a whole displays themes of patriotism, love and connection, and grief and violence.
Throughout the film, the audience is shown pastoral imagery contrasted with scenes of war, traditional symbols of English nationalism, and glorification of military service. From the start, many of the characters go out of their way to enlist in military service, even if they are denied or unable to. The central character of the film is a veteran, Captain Beck (David Jason) who refuses to stay home in Sandringham despite being encouraged to. He is told by others that he has “done his bit” for his home and country, but he seeks glory and honor that the younger soldiers will have.
The film is filled with literary references supporting this theme of patriotism. Soldiers make reference to classical literature, as the land where they are fighting was said to be the same place where the ancient city of Troy fell to Greek forces. The famous poem “The Soldier” by Rupert Brooke is recited twice in the movie. Additionally, the story of the “Angel of Mons” is mentioned by the soldiers, used as a sort of comfort for the brutality of war.
The audience can see a major difference between the attitudes of soldiers and those at home, just as we have discussed throughout the course. Those at home look down upon pacifistic ideas, even from soldiers and veterans. People who express this are ridiculed, shunned, and even attacked for being anti-war.
Another theme, although not as prevalent, still permeates through the film: the theme of love and connection. Before the soldiers are sent off to war, there is a wedding between a young woman and a soon-to-be-deployed soldier. The community of Sandringham comes together to celebrate this unity. These scenes are filled with so much joy and happiness, as the characters dance and celebrate together. Writing back to his wife, this same soldier spares the harsh details of the war to her. To add, the audience is also shown a connection between two other men in the company, one soldier, Radley, enlisting to protect another.
Lastly, the most noticeable theme in the film is that of grief and violence. One especially jarring part of the film is the switch from the homefront to the soldiers in Gallipoli. Not only can we clearly see the shift, but every aspect of the film and readers’ senses are shifted as well. The cinematography becomes shaky, chaotic, and unstable. While following specific soldiers, there is overwhelming background speech of other soldiers and noises. The acting becomes frantic and panicked. The audience experiences a fraction of what the soldiers would in this moment, unable to process the events unfolding at such a quick pace.
The last act, omitting details to prevent spoilers, shows such a shock to the audience. Where other war films may push themes of hope along with patriotism, this film does not spare the viewer from the reality of war. The true devastation is still shown to the audience despite the glorification of service. We see the grief of those on the homefront, experiences of veteran soldiers and their treatment, and panicking in moments of uncertainty after the war.
The movie as a whole does an incredible job at focusing on many stories at once and how the war affects each of their lives. Both the cinematography and music follows the tone of each scene beautifully, and silence or quiet moments stand out in particular to the audience. The film does lack in the way it does not highlight other perspectives, only that of the white upper-class in England. There is a heavy glorification of war, imperialism, and blind nationalist devotion. Despite this, the film still does a great job of highlighting the genuine tragedy and brutality of war. The individual stylistic choices of the movie tie everything together and communicate its themes beautifully.
In the end, this movie had many weaknesses but was a beautiful watch. It would be greatly enjoyed by anyone who enjoys the war film genre and would be interested in seeing something that both conforms and subverts stereotypes of that genre. The plot as a whole isn’t incredibly engaging throughout every moment of the movie, but the characters are compelling and the acting is wonderful.
There was one concept brought up last class that was briefly discussed but I wanted to elaborate on it further. In relation to “The Bowmen” by Arthur Machen, Dr. Scanlon brought up the idea of classical literature such as the Odyssey or the Aeneid. These texts often include a concept called “Katabasis”, a Greek word meaning descent into the underworld. In these legendary epic texts, the hero would journey to the realm of the dead for insight, information, protection, or another reason. We see a similar concept happen in reverse, where the dead are seen as coming up to protect the soldiers on the battlefront. It’s also fascinating as often katabasis for the hero included talking to another hero who passed or a loved one. These soldiers were protected by similar figures, those who fought for Britain in the past, similar to the idea of another hero in the underworld. I really loved hearing the classical connection in the class, and wanted to talk about it a little more!
I’d heard of the legend of the Angels of Mons, an ethereal force that saved the badly outnumbered British forces at the Battle of Mons, before. Halfway into reading ‘The Bowmen’ I realized that this story seemed familiar and, through a Google search that was initially trying to find the vegetarian restaurant mentioned in the story, discovered that this story is thought to be the starting place for that legend. Thought that was pretty cool. Now I want to find the place I originally read about the legend, because if I recall correctly it had a cool “friendly ghost story” vibe.