Two Men Went to War

Two military dentists, one old, stiff, officious (Cranham), the other young, goofy, impressionable (Bill), decide to invade Occupied France during WWII - a cute, potentially intriguing true story. An embittered sergeant enlists the help of his eager trainee in a last ditch attempt to see some action. The poignancy of a veteran's desperation is undercut, however, by an insistently light comic tone. Something might have been made of the frequent scenes of Churchill pondering the war, but the director is more concerned with characters below stairs, the chattering letter sorters, the overworked secretary, the Chief of Intelligence (Jacobi). With its gentle comedy, sweeping landscape shots and nostalgic wartime soundtrack, this would serve as a sleepy Sunday night BBC drama. Whether it merits the price of a cinema ticket is another matter.