De slag om de Schelde, The Forgotten Battle (2020)

This film was the very first film I chose to watch when the cinema re-opened. For some reason, the first film of the year is a decision. I know that I talk about films a lot on this blog but the plan was to not talk about this film. I must admit that the Dutch make excellent army films. I think in general Europe makes great films as we have such a rich history. With the two world wars being battled out on our continent, no one does War films as well as Europeans. There are so many interesting and beautiful stories to tell. I adore history and history films as they portray the battles people faced and the complexities of living in a country at war. Although I usually don’t talk about Dutch films as I feel that no one will actually see the film and therefore no one will be interested. I could not pass on the opportunity to talk about this film. The cast is really good in this one. I had only read the little blurb on the cinema website as I paid attention in History class and was somewhat familiar with the story. So, let’s get into it…

What was this film about?
November’44. Tens of thousands of allies (I couldn’t find if in English this is correct, but these are the ones that we wanted to win, so in this film, we met the English and Canadians) and Germans (the Nazis) are fighting each other on Walcheren in Zeeland. The film follows the path of a Dutch boy who fights for the Germans, a lost English glider pilot, and a girl from Zeeland who is reluctantly involved in the resistance. Eventually, their pads cross.

They are confronted with crucial choices concerning their own and others’ freedom. Central to the film is the ‘slag om de Schelde’, which took place in the autumn of 1944 in Zeeland and West Brabant, in which more than 10,000 people lost their lives. This battle, which was decisive in the Second World War, is known as one of the most important and fierce battles in Western Europe. Yet, little attention has been paid to it over the years. The film is going to change this and tells the story of three young characters who each deal with war and freedom in their way. I got this information here, it was a collaboration translation between Google Translate and myself.

 The trailer

If the video doesn’t work, click here

What did I think?
One of the best things this film did was have the English people speak English, have the Germans speak German, and have the Dutch speak Dutch to one another (but in the other languages to the people that didn’t speak Dutch). This is also something my dad (who watched the film with me said). Nothing takes you out of a movie more than having a movie play out in a country let’s say France and having everyone speak English even to one another when everyone in the scene is French. It is so frustrating as that doesn’t happen in the real world. As we watched it in the Dutch theatre the Dutch parts weren’t subtitled but the English and German bits were, I didn’t have a problem either way as I grew up reading subtitles. I enjoyed the fact that all of the characters had their path to eventually doing what was right. Choosing to be on the right side of history.

I think that we all like to believe we would be on the right side of history when something like this happens to us. Everyone would like to think that they would choose the right path, it has always been interesting to me that people on both sides (at least at first, thought that they were doing just that. Fighting for the right thing). The thing with saying things like this is that we do not know if we would. We cannot possibly know what decisions we would make in a situation like this. It depends on a whole heap of factors. Your money situation, how invested you are in it, what your friends and family do, and how you view the other group (this in-and-out-group phenomenon is very interesting, and worth a read online if you haven’t heard of it).

I like that this film focuses on three stories. It’s obvious from the start that both of the guys chose what they felt was the right choice, the best choice for their future and their families. It’s crazy to think that back in the day they let young men fight in wars. Idealistic young men, cannot properly think through the decisions they are making to fight in a war. I do understand they have to draw a line somewhere and that you have to have as many soldiers as possible. Yet, being 24 myself, even that is still quite young in a lot of ways.

We also meet a Dutch girl who only really made a decision when it affected her personally. Which let us be honest here, is what most people did. And what most likely would be the way we would make a choice.  I also really liked how the character Marinus (the Dutch guy who fought for the Germans) went through a personal crisis if you will, really questioning what he believed in. This was done in a way where it truly showed this struggle. Seeing someone realize that whatever this is, isn’t good is incredible. It was done so well, it made you root for him to make a better choice. I also think it is important to show stories like that as it’s much less black and white for most people than you would believe if you only looked at the big picture. Psychology is so interesting and how people make decisions and then justify them is one of the most important things to understand.

Also, the girl called Teuntje showed a lot of courage throughout the whole film. I enjoyed the fact that such an honest story was put in. Not everyone will want to fight for the greater good, some if not most will just sit on the sideline until they have to move. The bottom line we cannot fault someone for choosing to look out for themselves at first. It was so heartbreaking to see that her dad trusted the Nazis but that she knew he shouldn’t have.  I don’t want to say too much, because I will give everything away but it was one of the best films I have seen in a long time. It will come to Netflix but I am not sure if it will be on everyone’s Netflix. Be sure to look out for it though as  I recommend you watch it, with subtitles you can easily understand the whole film!

Edit: Turns out the movie is called  ‘The Forgotten Battle’ on Netflix.

As I said, I went to this film with my dad and I said he also liked this one very much! It was a great first film of the year experience. My other film reviews can be found by clicking here. Or maybe you want to read something completely different click here. Follow me on my socials for updates on Instagram and tiktok.

 

Lots of love,
Melissa