Overlord

A fascinating film that doesn't quite work as well as it should as a narrative feature largely because of the unique way in which it was made. The archival footage used is of most interest with some stunning footage of both the build up to D-Day in the UK and some specific shots of the war itself, notably from the air. The film has cleverly combined the footage to tell the story of the a soldier's training and deployment for the invasion and it is sometimes difficult to tell where the real footage begins and the fictional footage starts. However, it is in the initial part of the film that the understandable desire to cut from the protagonist to the archival footage creates an emotional disconnect from the central story. Once the film moves on to the build-up to D-Day however, the combination of footage is much more deftly handled to build a narrative that perfectly captures the scale of the invasion and the boredom, fear and tension of the soldiers waiting.