24 February 2018

4.30 pm

4 Euros

Culture

Cinepalace via Virgilio

Darkest hour

English Film Festival at the Cinapalace. Movies in original language with Italian subtitles.

 

The film commences in May 1940. The opposition Labour Party in Parliament demands the resignation of British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain for being too weak in the face of the Nazi onslaught. Chamberlain tells Conservative Party advisers that he wants Lord Halifax as his successor, but Halifax does not want to become Prime Minister yet. Chamberlain must choose the only other man whom other parties will support: Winston Churchill, the First Lord of the Admiralty. Churchill tries to dismiss his new secretary Elizabeth Layton for mishearing him, which earns him a rebuke from his wife Clementine. King George VI reluctantly invites Churchill to form a government including Chamberlain and Halifax. Although he was right about the danger from Adolf Hitler, Churchill has a poor reputation because of his record in the Admiralty, the Gallipoli Campaign in the First World War, his views on India and his support for Edward VIII during the Abdication Crisis.

 

Parliament reacts coolly to Churchill’s first speech promising “Blood, toil, tears and sweat,” for which he is chastised by the King. Churchill refuses to negotiate for peace, believing that the Germans are untrustworthy, but the French Prime Minister thinks him delusional for not admitting that the Allies are losing the Battle of France. Halifax and Chamberlain agree, keen to use Italian Ambassador Giuseppe Bastianini as intermediary to negotiate with Germany. They plan to resign from the government if Churchill refuses, to cause a vote of no confidence that will allow Halifax to become Prime Minister. The British Expeditionary Force is trapped at Dunkirk and Calais. Against the advice of the War Cabinet, Churchill orders Brigadier Claude Nicholson in Calais to lead the 30th Infantry Brigade in a suicide attack to distract the enemy while the soldiers at Dunkirk are evacuated. The defeat in France causes the War Cabinet to support negotiating with Germany. George VI unexpectedly visits Churchill; the King, not wanting to rule in exile, encourages the Prime Minister to continue the war.

 

Still uncertain of what to do, Churchill decides to ask London Underground passengers; the civilians want to continue to fight. Churchill meets with the Outer Cabinet and other members of Parliament, who also support him. The evacuation of troops from Dunkirk, Operation Dynamo, is successful. As Churchill prepares to address Parliament, Halifax asks Chamberlain to continue with their plan to resign, but Chamberlain decides to listen to the address first. Towards the end of his speech, Churchill proclaims that “We shall fight on the beaches” should the Germans invade. Chamberlain decides to support Churchill, and Parliament applauds the Prime Minister’s defiance.

History...

The name (in local pronunciation Arcaton) comes from the Greek and Byzantine occupation dated back to the sixth century AD: "Archeion" is the name of a plant, the burr, which still grows spontaneously in some areas of the beach now occupied by the bathing establishments but which was once abundant on the desert shore of Riccione.

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