As a film portraying the fallibility of the Allies, which it foreshadows with an incident from the very beginning, its human element is a crucial aspect. The de-centered approach to the character then is a wise one to delve into the collective trauma of the tragedy without losing out what Kirk Douglas would call ‘human interest’.
Given that the disaster involved a school and a large-scale death of children, the loss of childhood innocence creeps into the narrative quite early. Henry and Eva, both witness violence and become germane to the hazards of the world they’re living in while Rigmor remains ignorant and this ties into the conclusion of the arcs of the children. The friendship between the three of them is never maudlin and Rigmor’s attempt to make Henry speak are the most heartwarming moments in what is quite a grim film otherwise. This is made possible by the child actors, who are all so proficient with their material that the performances never ask for attention and blend into its world perfectly.
The film’s most powerful scene involves Sister Teresa’s plight owing to her helplessness. The sheer tragedy of this moment is conveyed with an excellent combination of her dejected expressions and dialogues from an offscreen character, creating a heartbreaking dynamic between the two. While on the technical front, the film is perfectly competent and largely unremarkable, there is a single take right at the end of it which is so purely cinematic that it succeeds in being the exact grand moment it clearly set out to be. (Read more.)
From The Independent:
The stricken Mosquito “T for Tommy” crashed seconds later in a garage near the Jeanne d`Arc French Catholic school on Frederiksbergs Allé. The front part with the cockpit with the two crew members landed on Dr. Priemesvej; they were badly burned and later died of their injuries. Pilot W/C Peter A. Kleboe and Navigator F/O Reginald J.W. Hall were laid to rest in Bispebjerg Cemetery on 28 March 1945.""
In the confusion and fear of the battle ,with sense of direction not as distinct as it would have been flying at a higher altitude, one or two of the pilots in the second wave mistook the smoke and flames of the downed Mosquito as being from the target of the raid and dropped their deadly pay load on a large building close by.
All of the planes in the third wave, flying closely behind in a macabre game of Follow the Leader did likewise and within minutes the Insitut Jeanne D'Arc was consigned to oblivion.
Of the 529 people who were in the school that day 86 children and a number of adults lost their lives. Ten nuns, three lady lady teachers, a private pupil and at least six others who rushed to help.Counting military casualties on both sides and other civilian casualties the death toll was significantly higher, causing many even to this day to question whether the mission could be regarded as a success or a failure.
Some said that Sister Marie Fulgentia died a heroine, going back into the building to rescue some of the children, but as there are conflicting accounts of what exactly happened to her it seems more than possible that those who witnessed my mother's aunt in her final moments never lived to tell the tale.
The sisters were buried in Copenhagen's Asssistens Cemetery with the white cross from the gable end of l'Institut Jeanne D'Arc placed on their grave.The school was never rebuilt .
Some years ago when a brother of mine went looking for the little monument that was erected to remember the victims his first port of call was to a tourist office who were unable to locate the monument . Armed with a few photographs and a little book given to a cousin by some of the surviving nuns some years before, my brother very quickly found the area while talking to a few passersby.
One elderly woman looked at him with a hint of tears in her expression and said , "Every time I look up at that sky, in my mind's eye I can still see the Allied planes that brought so much hope and yet so much destruction to Denmark . I pray that nothing like that will ever happen to anyone ever again."
What was seen by a young person in a tourist office as being just part of ancient history was seen as something still very real by someone who had lived through it. (Read more.)
1 comment:
The entire mission to bomb Nazi headquarters in the middle of occupied Copenhagen was ill advised and ill planned. How they expected young inexperienced pilots to safely complete this delicate mission in the middle of a city populated by civilians who were not even enemies is beyond comprehension.
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