Cross of Honour [DVD]

A beautiful film about the lesser-seen parts of war: friendship and companionship between forced rivals. With stunning performances by the whole cast (especially Lachlan Nieboer!) this poignant, moving film certainly deserves a watch. An unknown gem.

We're in World War II, and Britain and Germany are battling over Norway's minerals. An RAF aeroplane and its Luftwaffe opponent crash in a wintry wilderness. Three German airmen take refuge in a deserted wooden shack; later, two Brits - including a ginger Scouser played by Hogwarts's Rupert Grint - stumble into it too. This film (based on a true story) tells the tale of what happens next.

All my favourite films are extravagant fantasy blockbusters, so it's a tribute to this micro-budget production that I enjoyed it as much as I did. Although most of its action was confined to a space about the size of a double garage, the quality of the script, performances, cinematography and editing were such that my interest never flagged. There was tension aplenty, and humour, and pathos, and finally - or so it seemed to me - a lesson in human nature well worth learning and remembering.

Complaints? The blu-ray sleeve, with its dramatic image of aircraft and infantry absent from the film itself, might lead you to expect a different kind of film from what the disc actually offers. And I'd like to have seen a bit more of the film's beautiful Norwegian and Swedish locations. Oh, and I could have done without the script's handful of four-letter words - but then I am more than a bit tweedily old-fashioned.

The picture quality of the blu-ray is fine. The audio is just modest two-channel PCM, but this is entirely adequate to a soundscape not very different from a play's. About twenty minutes of German or Norwegian dialogue are given clear, legible subtitles. The only extras are trailers for three other low-budget war movies, although the film's closing captions tell us what happened to the film's protagonists after the events depicted.

I enjoyed this film. Its not about war, its about friendship and characters. The performances are uniformally strong but Rupert Grint as Smith does steal every scene.

Great film something different a film with a real human side to it. Good acting Rupert's Liverpool accept spot on.

I love Rupert Grint as an actor so couldn't wait to see what i thought of this film and i definitely wasn't disappointed!
It's such a great film based around the war, bringing German and English soldiers together with an amaizng ending too.
It isn't action packed but a great film all the same

I actually watched this film on the day it happened, as it says on the sleeve, purely by coincidence. I very moving story and how the 'players' in this drama finally become friends to their detriment. Thought provoking yet again. Worth a watch.

Rupert Grint has proven that some child actors get better as they age. In this war time tale of male bonding, courage and friendship he again demonstrates his versatility with accents and depth of expression. I would be surprised if there wasn't an OSCAR waiting in this young man's future.
This is a film about relationships and human resilience, don't expect thrilling chases or big special effects. Not all the dialogue is in English, it is not an English film, but there are clear subtitles.

Not always believable throughout but a good war based story of the psychological aspect of combatants needing to cooperate to survive and the changing of attitudes. Watched it after 'A Midnight Clear' that has a very different slant and outcome.