As someone who was 9yrs old at the start of the war and lived in the London suburb of Southall I found the film unbelievably accurate and it was like watching my very own experiences all over again. From having my sister and I 's evacuation to relatives in the U.S. canceled at the last minute because a previous ship from the London area was torpedoed, to the scrambling over bomb sites and collecting shrapnel it was uncannily similar. I was playing with my lead soldiers out on the pavement when that first test Siren went off and we were all herded under a bed downstairs. Lead soldiers lost their appeal with all the excitement of dog fights over head , near misses from bombs that flattened nearby houses and the joy from us all ( as in the film) school was canceled when an unexploded bomb landed in the playground. I was not lucky enough to have a rich uncle who lived on the Thames though,so when the bombing got a bit too much we were sent off to Bristol with our relatives there until Bristol started getting pounded just as much as London.Seen the film 4 times now with last night's showing on Foxtel 27/6/2013 always a joy to watch for the memories. Since first posting my review I have read all the others and was a little surprised at the negative comments of some. Possibly the film is viewed a lot more favourably by the English, especially if from that era as I was. But I can assure everyone that I cannot fault the accuracy of most of the events and the attitude of most people coping with it all. Of course there was death and destruction all around, but as long as it wasn't personally you , humour helped everyone cope, which surely is not just a British trait ? The film was supposed to be through a boys eyes after all, nit picking a film that was as true a recreation of how life was for an ordinary family in war time , just beats me. As in the film, I as another 9yr old, never at any time felt the fear that my parents and other adults were probably fighting in their own way. I was just caught up in all the excitement part of it. I have to get a D.V.D. copy of the film now to give to my Grand children, and say " That's what it was like." So true to how it was.!
Review of Hope and Glory
