But the focused, infantry-eye view of Battleĭiary presents a more contemplative look at the horrible confusion of battle-and the nature of memory. Video cassettes to commemorate the D-Day anniversary-offers a classic overview of Canada’s march through the war. The National Film Board’s 61/2-hour Canada at War series-now released as a boxed set of four The documentary record of the Second World War is already considerable. The machine guns were still firing at the ones that were wounded.” Seeing “a whole line of people lying on the beach,” he recalls, “my first thought was, ‘They’ve gone to ground, they didn’t follow me.’ And then I realized they were casualties. Charles Dalton recalls that, aside from the fear of death, for an officer leading men into battle the biggest fear “is that you’re not going to be able to perform.” He remembers that when he was about two-thirds of the way across the beach on D-Day, he “sneaked a look back” to check on his men. With others who participated in the operation. While Martin’s experience frames the show and sets its elegiac tone, the most revealing interviews are With this onehour documentary, producer Richard Nielsen and director Martyn Burke have created a moving tribute to the Canadians who died on the beaches at Normandy-and those who were lucky enough to survive. And by cutting between the veteran’s quiet reflections and grainy black-and-white war footage, Battle Diary: A Day in the Life of Charlie Martin manages to bridge that enormous gap between the distant memory and the horrifying immediacy of combat. The grey-green waves still look forbidding and cold as he surveys the scene. He went to war for the first time-and saw his friends die around him. BATTLE DIARY: A DAY IN THE LIFE OF CHARLIE MARTINĪs Charlie Martin slowly walks the windswept beach at Bernières-surmer, his cane leaving a faint impression on the hard wet sand, he tries to conjure up that day, 50 years ago, when
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |