That was an excellent one.

Very interesting film. Was caught on the premise when seeing the trailer but unsure as to what the outcome would be for the showing. As it turns out, it was a very good film.

The movie's neither hopeful in contrived ways, nor hopeless in different contrived ways. Somehow it manages to be wonderful

There are moments that feel comical, some horrific, and some downright inspiring but the tonal shifts hardly matter as the end results come to a film that's perfect for this time.

I think it was Michael Palin who wanted to make a movie in which he ran over someone with a steamroller and Charles Crichton who wanted to make a movie in which the principals got away to South America home free. It doesn't apply to this movie, which is an Ealing movie, but not a comedy, yet shows the care and excellence that Michael Balcon applied to the movies he produced.It starts out at a spy training center in England, run by a seemingly amiable John Robertson Justice. The four top "students" with which this movie concerns itself are Robert Beatty, Simone Signoret, Jack Warner and Gordon Jackson. Beatty, a priest, is sent out earlier. When a rescue is needed, the others follow. However, things go wrong and matters become messy.All of the actors go about things as stoically as they can, but their characters' emotions keep leaking through. The movie keeps throwing up tense moments, some of which are solved heroically, some tragically and some comically. It's a first class movie in all departments, even if the subject has grown commonplace in the aftermath of the Cold War.

This seminal British war film has been "hommaged" a thousand times in the last sixty years from "Charlotte Gray" to "'Allo,'Allo !" via Where Eagles Dare" but despite countless copies and lampoons it has retained its power .Fast paced and seeming shorter than its 92 minutes,"Against The Wind" is shot in crisp black and white by Lionel Banes . From the opening sequence depicting priest Mr R.Beatty walking into the Imperial Institute a number of beautiful interior shots seamlessly meld into the introduction of the undoubted star of the piece Miss Simone Signoret.It is she on whom the camera lingers for just that extra second.She takes Mr Beatty to the office of S.O.E. boss Mr J.R. Justice.Slimmer and more hirsute he is still a nascent Sir Lancelot Spratt,outwardly irascible,inwardly compassionate. He briefs Beatty on his plan to parachute a group of saboteurs into occupied Belgium.As the story progresses we are introduced to the other members of the team as they go through their training. Miss Signoret has recently had tragedy in her personal life and wants to go into action to make amends.Forbidden from doing so by Mr Justice who rightly questions her motives ,she is drinking heavily in a nearby pub when she is joined by Mr J.Warner,one of the group in training. This is a key scene in the film and Miss Signoret is extraordinary in it as the camera closes in on her face and we see anger and determination turn to despair.Mr Warner,too often dismissed as a lightweight,is first class in support here. However she eventually gets her wish and joins Mr Warner and his comrades on their mission. Just as they take off Warner is revealed as a traitor but it is too late to call them back and it is not until they are hiding up with the Resistance that Miss Signoret as wireless operator gets the message that he is a spy.Without any hesitation she shoots him dead as he shaves at the sink. Briefed to bust an important S.O.E. operative from jail the team snatch him from a train in a brilliantly handled sequence that has been often imitated but never bettered. There is a splendid vehicle chase through narrow streets congested with cattle,beer drays and a religious procession.This last has been particularly well cut in Eisenstein fashion without being an obvious copy. Perennial TV favourites Mr J.Slater and Mr G.Jackson make a strong impression in smaller roles but it is Miss Signoret's strength and beauty that commands the attention. "Against the wind " is a film that deserves to be better - known. Indeed you may think you have seen it before,but you probably haven't. But I can guarantee you a lot of other film directors have.

I learned as a child - when I was taken to see them regularly by my parents - not to expect too much from British films so when I bought this DVD on the strength of Simone Signoret's star billing I was prepared to be disappointed and the film didn't let me down. Whoever cast Gordon Jackson as Signoret's 'love interest' deserves some kind of ineptitude Award; it's a bit like casting Alain Delon and Diana Dors as lovers. Lots of the usual suspects are wheeled out; Jack Warner, John Slater, James Robertson Justice, Robert Beatty et al but Charlie Chrichton is just not an 'action' director and this has to rank as one of the most woeful entries on Ealing's distinguished roster.

In 1943 a miscellaneous group of women and men of several nationalities prepare in London to be parachuted into Belgium. They are to lead sabotage operations against the occupying German forces. A government office is destroyed, a traitor is discovered, one of their number is captured and rescued, several of them die, two fall in love.This is a classic British WWII adventure, exploiting the potential for romance of the Special Operations Executive, notwithstanding its marginal affect on the conduct of the war. The acting is good, with Simone Signoret very beautiful and suitably soulful, Gordon Jackson playing a characteristically shaky personality and Robert Beatty in a fine, solid role as the saboteur-priest. James Robertson-Justice, of course, plays himself, as always. The plot is a disappointment. The story line does not appear clearly until the second half of the film, after a series of scenes in which the members of the team are assembled and there is a series of half-hearted attempts to establish their backgrounds and motivation. The amateurishness reinforces a certain stereotype of the British people and the lamentable lack of security awareness makes one cringe. Despite the drawbacks, this film is well done and a pleasure to watch.