Behind the Lines

[Logan]

This is one of my fav. movies; It's up there with 'Empire of the Sun.'

It can be quite difficult to find or track down but its well worth it.

Some tips that may help you find it:
-It was made in 1997
-It is NOT 'Behind enemy lines'---- It IS just 'Behind the Lines' this can be easily confused at the video store.
-It somtimes goes by the title 'Regeneration.'


It is by far one of the most inspirational movies I have ever seen. And it helped with my recovery by helping me to accept myself (I identified with one one the main characters).

The Movie: It takes place durring World War One, in Britain, at a hospital for Officer's with PTSD and battle fatigue.
Some of the patients their are (the famous) war poets of that time and they meet and each help eachother deal with and get through what they have been through

Although the story is ficticious, It is very touching and moving-I HIGHLY RECOMEND IT!!!!!!!!!!

Logan

 

[Ivanhoe]

Logan,

Have I got some good news for you.

You may not know this, but both, "Behind The Lines" and, "Empire Of The Sun," are true stories.

I was so taken by these films myself, that I did some net surfing to check into the stories.

Spielberg did such an authentic job in producing, "Empire," that he filmed a lot of the scenes on the same streets and other locations in Shanghai that have not changed since WWII.

The guy, J. G. Ballard, who wrote the story, lived it and said that it took him twenty years to forget what happened to him, and another 20 years to remember it again in order to write it. Kinda sounds like some of us old timers here who have taken so long to deal with our pasts.

When you view the film next time, the author has a small part as the butler at the costume party where the boy leaves to sail his model plane in the backyard.

The other movie really moved me--sorry, I just talk like that sometimes......
"Behind The Lines," was about how the poets, Wilfred Owen and Siegfried Sasson, actually met--in that hospital for the shell shocked.

Wilfred did die in that war but thanks to Sasson, who saw to it that Owen's work was collected, his art lives on. Some powerful poetry, if you haven't already discovered.

I'm suspecting that you were taken by these films, because they ring true and reach us where we live.

VIVA FILM and VIVA WRITERS who can show us at our best.

And, VIVA YOU for bringing these to our attention!

David

 

[Sleepy]

David and Logan,
"Empire of the Sun" has been one of my all time favorite movies. J.G. Ballard even wrote a second book that was sequal to "Empire of the Sun." Truthfully, the book called "The Kindness of Women" disappointed me a little. I was expecting something as wonderful as the first book. It turns out that the guy later in his life becomes a complete sex addict. And the book focuses mainly on this issue. When I finished "The Kindness of Women" I often wondered if some sort of SA occured while he was held in the POW camp. It wouldn't surprise me if he withheld that type of information because, as we all know, male sexual abuse is a difficult topic to breach.

When I get some time I'm gonna try and find "Behind the Lines." I hope it's as good as "Empire of the Sun."
Mike