The soldiers in this WW1 movie don't go over the top of the trenches they burrow under them.
This Australian film tells of the biggest operation of them all, the setting of the massive mine under Hill 60 on the Messines Ridge in 1917 that got a rise out of the enemy literally and lethally. It's from an Australian perspective, but it acknowledges the part the Tommies and Canadians played.
The look of the film is brilliant. The filmmakers didn't shy away from the incessant rain that made filming in it almost as uncomfortable as fighting a war in it.
The main character, real life Oliver Woodward (Brendan Cowell), is a civil mining engineer who ends up in charge of a group of Aussies enlisted for their civilian mining skills.
Flashbacks to civilian life throw a light on Australian society of that generation. Through the courtship of Oliver and the young daughter of a friend we get a sense of the manners and formality that existed between men and women.
The contrast is stark also between the airiness of the Australian countryside and the claustrophobic tunnels and muddy trenches at the front. Despite the horrors that stoic generation faced in WW1, they may have been even more horrified by the idea that 100 years on, cities in their fair land would feel the need for Safe Injection Rooms and that entertainment would include items such as "FBoy Island".
The film captures the spirit and sardonic humour of the miners. Like Peter Weir's Gallipoli, wit is as essential as grit in the portrayal of life in and under the trenches.
Some have claimed the number of Germans killed in the explosions was exaggerated. Possibly, but Charles Bean, the Australian historian, reported that the Australians that attacked after the explosions found the most demoralized soldiers they had ever encountered; even if you weren't killed, being on the receiving end of such an event would definitely ruin your day.
A British film, "The War Below" (2021) covers similar territory. It's good, but gives the impression that just half a dozen blokes pulled it off. The team of miners were specialist Clay Kickers, but that film barely shows their amazing method of lying on their backs with the spade between their legs. "The War Below" is poignant, but "Beneath Hill 60" is broader in scope; it digs a little deeper.
This Australian film tells of the biggest operation of them all, the setting of the massive mine under Hill 60 on the Messines Ridge in 1917 that got a rise out of the enemy literally and lethally. It's from an Australian perspective, but it acknowledges the part the Tommies and Canadians played.
The look of the film is brilliant. The filmmakers didn't shy away from the incessant rain that made filming in it almost as uncomfortable as fighting a war in it.
The main character, real life Oliver Woodward (Brendan Cowell), is a civil mining engineer who ends up in charge of a group of Aussies enlisted for their civilian mining skills.
Flashbacks to civilian life throw a light on Australian society of that generation. Through the courtship of Oliver and the young daughter of a friend we get a sense of the manners and formality that existed between men and women.
The contrast is stark also between the airiness of the Australian countryside and the claustrophobic tunnels and muddy trenches at the front. Despite the horrors that stoic generation faced in WW1, they may have been even more horrified by the idea that 100 years on, cities in their fair land would feel the need for Safe Injection Rooms and that entertainment would include items such as "FBoy Island".
The film captures the spirit and sardonic humour of the miners. Like Peter Weir's Gallipoli, wit is as essential as grit in the portrayal of life in and under the trenches.
Some have claimed the number of Germans killed in the explosions was exaggerated. Possibly, but Charles Bean, the Australian historian, reported that the Australians that attacked after the explosions found the most demoralized soldiers they had ever encountered; even if you weren't killed, being on the receiving end of such an event would definitely ruin your day.
A British film, "The War Below" (2021) covers similar territory. It's good, but gives the impression that just half a dozen blokes pulled it off. The team of miners were specialist Clay Kickers, but that film barely shows their amazing method of lying on their backs with the spade between their legs. "The War Below" is poignant, but "Beneath Hill 60" is broader in scope; it digs a little deeper.