Young Winston

A film about the youth of Winston Churchill. The narrative begins at boarding school. The boy fails at his lessons, is beaten and gets no attention from his father. The father is a well known politician; he considers his son without ability and says so openly. He gets into military academy only on the third attempt. Then he joins the cavalry and starts going to war zones. His aim is not only to be a soldier; he works as a war correspondent, sends what he writes to the newspapers and wants his name known. He serves on the Indian frontier, in Sudan and finally in South Africa. There he is taken prisoner and escapes; the escape becomes a great story in England. Back home he uses that fame to enter politics. What the film is interested in is not heroism but a man who never had his father's approval spreading that across his whole life. The narrative stops at times and the characters speak to camera as though being interviewed. The source is Churchill's own book. Simon Ward plays the young Winston, Robert Shaw his father and Anne Bancroft his mother. John Mills and Anthony Hopkins are in the cast. Richard Attenborough directed. A comprehensive choice for anyone who likes biographical films and period productions. For a viewer expecting a critical view, the film approaches its subject with sympathy.