Directed by Michael Powell and Emeric Pressburger
My rating: 3 stars out of 4
IMDb
(Blu-ray, Criterion Collection)
This is really the story of two life-long friends who fought on opposite sides of early 20th century wars between Britain and Germany. Their first meeting is at a duel in Berlin, where the young British officer Candy (Roger Livesey) insults the German military and must face the consequences by facing German soldier Anton Walbrook, chosen at random to represent his country. They both survive the duel, and in the hospital recovering from their wounds become friends. They fall in love with the same woman, Deborah Kerr, though Candy doesn't realize it until too late. Time passes and the two countries find themselves at war in WWI. Candy marries a girl who looks like his first love, also played by Kerr, in a somewhat gimmicky role. He meets up with his old German friend, now a prisoner of war, who at first shuns him. Later they make up and reminisce about old times. In the final segment, they play two old men whose countries are at war once again in WWII. Kerr gets a third role, a young driver of the respected General. It's all very British, a little talky and episodic, but succeeds in recreating a feel for what it must have been like to live through a turbulent period in Europe's history.
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