War doesn’t take place in just one battle– it takes multiple battles in certain strategic places across a country or even a continent. It’s because of this that when one group claims victory, it’s not immediately obvious across all territories. This is what happened in The Forgotten Battle. The film’s title refers to the Battle of the Scheldt, where Allied forces won over an important supply route between Belgium and the Netherlands, in the final year before both countries were totally liberated. In line with this, the film creates tension by ratcheting up the uncertainty the people felt through three different perspectives. By focusing on a disillusioned Dutch volunteer, a privileged British glider pilot, and a reluctant Dutch resistance fighter, The movie highlights the conflict between their personal hopes with the dreadful circumstances war forced them into and the moral dilemmas they had to face to survive. It’s not a totally original idea– many war films are based on this theme– but The Forgotten Battle adeptly balances these perspectives with a decent script and great production value.
During WWII's crucial Battle of the Scheldt, the lives of a glider pilot, a Nazi soldier and a reluctant Resistance recruit tragically intersect.
Walcheren Island, Zeeland, Netherlands, 1944. While the Allied forces fight to win back a supply route, the lives of disillusioned Dutch volunteer Marinus van Staveren, British glider pilot Will Sinclair, and Dutch resistance fighter Teuntje Visser become intertwined.
The multiple perspectives. It’s not new, but keeping balance between them is tough, and this film is able to do it well.
With many, many films about World War II, it’s no surprise that this film touches on the same themes. But it’s not bad and it’s decent to look at with the Netflix production budget.
