A while ago I watched the Trailer for Testament of Youth and I knew I wanted to know more about it. I bought the book or rather the memoirs of Vera Brittain, which the movie is based on, but I haven’t managed to finish it yet. Nonetheless, I finally decided to watch the movie and I do not regret not having waited any longer! I will keep this post Spoiler-free but I cannot say the same about the comments!
Here some basic facts:
Genre: Biography/Drama/History
Length: 129 minutes
Cast: Alicia Vikander, Kit Harington, Colin Morgan, Taron Egerton, Hayley Atwell, Emily Watson, Dominic West, Miranda Richardson …
Director: James Kent
Testament of Youth is the real account of Vera Brittain’s life and keeping that in mind, the movie was just so much more heartfelt and heartbreaking than I thought it would be. I can tell you that they did not stick to the book a 100%, but that was a thing of impossibility anyway. What fascinated me so much about it though, was that the point of view wasn’t from someone at the front, someone involved in the actual fighting, but rather the view of a person who got left behind. Vera does everything possible to be of help, joining the volunteers as a nurse and in that way she witnesses her own horrors of war.
I always have my problems with war stories. There are never any real winners. Yet, the movie shows why people joined up, what their course of thinking was – their motivation. It also shows how war changed them and in consequence also their lives, their thinking and the people they love. Towards the end Vera gives an impressive speech in front of a pro-war crowd and she makes it her duty to never forget what happened to the people she cared about. I think we can all agree that she succeeded in doing that.
The movie is so beautiful and sad to watch (I’ll admit to having cried … a lot). The combination of strong visual pictures and quite striking poetry was extremely touching. Everyone involved did an extraordinary job and I was delighted with the work of Kit Harington (Game of Thrones), Colin Morgan (Merlin), Taron Egerton (Kingsman) and even Hayley Atwell (Agent Carter) whom I barely recognised at first. The real reason to watch is Alicia Vikander (Ex_Machina) though! She gives a strong, sympathetic and worthwhile performance, that I’ll be sure to remember.
Fazit: very recommendable!
Have you watched it as well? Have any of you read Vera’s memoirs?
I did not know this existed, but as of now, is on my to watch list 😀
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Always happy to spread the word 😉
I loved it, although it is a bit lengthy. But how else would you get to make a movie out of 900 pages of detailed description of the events?
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900 pages?! 😐 So, I’ll watch the movie for sure, but there’s no way I’m ever reading that book :-S
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Oops, sorry my bad! It’s “only” 600 pages, but it’s not exactly a fast read. The topic is just so heavy that it takes me forever to finish.
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lol “only” =D well, good luck with that. The only very huge book I’m planning on reading right now are the Outlander’s series (and not for a while).
I love this casting, but is Hayley Atwell in this trailer? I did not see her
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No, she’s not. The people who write the descriptions for the trailers just write the people in it that they think are most popular, but they never check what their role in the movie is. Hayley’s role isn’t very big. She’s a nurse at the front.
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hmmm, still, Game of Thrones, Kingsman, Agent Carter and Merlin, is quite appealing!
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I know, right? I was like: I need to see this!
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yeah, that’s my thought right now.
I’ll schedule it for as soon as I get through Arrow.
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[…] started watching this show because of Colin Morgan (previously known from Merlin, Doctor Who and Testament of Youth), but I got hooked right after the first episode. The three main storylines are very diverse and […]
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[…] Cavill, Armie Hammer, Alicia Vikander, Elizabeth Debicki, Hugh Grant, Luca Calvani, Jared Harris, […]
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I saw this last night and it really moved me. The amount of courage and resilience Vera showed in the face of such tragedy was remarkable.
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So glad you watched it and liked it too! I think Vera is such an important figure and I am glad they told her story with this medium!
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I’d love to read her memoir now.
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It is a lot more detailed and slow, not focusing on her romance so much. But it is still interesting.
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Thanks for the info.
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No problem.
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I’m currently writing the beginning of my review now, should be up later today or tomorrow.
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Great! I’ll make sure to read it!
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I hope I can do the movie justice.
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I am sure you will!
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Appreciate the encouragement.
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I posted my review not so long ago.
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