The War Below

In the First World War the Western Front has been locked for years. A group of British coal miners is recruited; their task is to dig a tunnel under the enemy line and set explosives there. Underground there is no light, little air, and the Germans are digging counter-tunnels. Each side can hear the other and neither can see. J.P. Watts's film covers the preparation for the Battle of Messines in June 1917. The historical background is real: the British army recruited miners specifically for the tunnelling skills of their civilian trade, and the mines laid under the Messines ridge produced one of the largest explosions of the war. Sam Hazeldine, Tom Goodman-Hill and Kris Hitchen are in the cast. The budget is small and the narrative takes place almost entirely inside the tunnel; claustrophobia is the film's main instrument. Who it's for: Viewers who like First World War narratives, confined-space tension, and small-budget war films grounded in history. Who it's not for: The characters are thinly drawn and the dialogue runs in familiar war-film shapes. Visually there is a repeating darkness as well.