Hero – Inspired by the Extraordinary Life & Times of Mr. Ulric Cross

This film’s lengthy full title reads ‘Inspired by the Extraordinary Life & Times of Mr Ulric Cross’, and this blend of biopic and documentary does indeed tell the story of a remarkable individual. Trinidadian war hero, lawyer and subsequent post-imperial political fixer, Cross was never a name familiar to the public at large, but played his part in pivotal historical moments as colonial rule gave way to independent African states. We see a little of the man himself in his final days, before he passed away aged 96 in 2013, but the focus here is on his youthful prime, played by actor Nickolai Salcedo. As WWII’s most decorated West Indian in the RAF, he later qualifies in law, yet his ambitions soon hit a career colour bar in peacetime Britain.

Writer-director Frances-Anne Solomon works wonders on a tight budget, blending newly-shot interiors with some wonderfully atmospheric archive footage to trace Cross’s subsequent path across Ghana, Cameroon and Tanzania where his idealism and legal expertise makes him just the man to help set up new independent administrations. The film’s strongest suit is showing how existing tribal loyalties proved as much of an obstacle to progress as the economic muscle of former colonial powers, and if it’s not exactly crowd-pleasing subject matter it’s certainly alert and engaging on a BBC4 level. Sadly, it fades slightly in the wrap-up, attempting to show how a father’s achievements inspired his daughter, yet we’re still left feeling we’ve had a good rummage around in an intriguing, exemplary life – of the kind that rarely gets full-length doc treatment.