The Siege of Jadotville (2016)

The Siege of Jadotville (2016)

TV-MA

netflix

The Very Best

8.0

Movie

Ireland, South Africa
English, French, Irish
Drama, Thriller, War
2016
RICHIE SMYTH
Ashish Gangapersad, Charlie Kelly, Conor MacNeill
108 min

What it's about

Irish Commandant Pat Quinlan leads a stand off with troops against French and Belgian Mercenaries in the Congo during the early 1960s.

The take

The Siege of Jadotville is a different kind of war movie. It doesn’t recount famous battles or portray renowned heroes - instead, it’s about heroes and events that went completely unnoticed. Namely, the Irish 35 Battalion ‘A’ Company - a group of youngsters who are sent out on a U.N mission to the Congo. What was supposed to be a simple positioning quickly becomes one of the most sought-after locations and the battalion of 150 ‘war-virgins” find themselves up against 3000 mercenaries led by experienced French commandants. And what a tribute this film is: it’s well-paced, powerfully shot, and the acting, led by Jamie Dornan on one side and Guillaume Canet on the other, is absolutely perfect.

Comments

Big fan of war movies and this is one was a pleasure to watch. If movies like Saving Private Ryan or Dunkirk are too intense for you, this one is a lot more forgiving.

I was taken aback by how well made the script was, despite it being an action movie you are very easily drawn into the story of it and I found myself on the edge of my seat multiple times! The acting by Jamie Dornan was very good, his frustration and anger during those few calls to high command felt very real and you just can’t help but share the emotions he delivers to the screen.Most war movies that cross my screen are focused on American wars so to see such a good movie focused on a UN mission in Africa is a welcome addition.
All in all, this movie had good acting, good scripting and good directing. Definitely worth watching.

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