An epic that details the life of an upper class English soldier over 40 years. The film has a flashback structure that places scenes around major events in three wars without actually depicting anything significant from these events. The central character, General Candy, is initially played as a caricature of upper British class nobility and there is a lot of humour derived from the character throughout. But as much as the film makes fun of some of these traits, it equally humanises Candy as the story develops. The film depicts his relationship with three women over the course of the film, all played by Deborah Kerr who convinces as three distinct characters in one film, but the emotional centre to the film is his friendship with Walbrook, which gradually becomes deeply moving. These relationships lead to a wonderful reevaluation of the character and the “death” of the caricature by the close of the film. Walbrook in particular is fantastic with two key moments in which he delivers a monologue concerning his life after World War I and another that epitomises one of the themes of the film - the changing nature of warfare that Candy in particular seems unwilling to acknowledge. There is also a very clever balancing act that the film does in exploring the younger generation’s perception of an older generation, initially encouraging the audience to join with the young soldiers mocking Candy’s steadfast refusal to change, but gradually leading the audience to sympathise, if not quite agree with his position. That this was made in the middle of World War II gives the context of the film an added dimension, but this is still as thematically relevant today as it was at the time. Wonderful film.

Roger Livesey is superb in this wonderfully colourful depiction of the life of "Clive Candy". We start with his rather undignified seizure at the steam baths by the home guard he is supposed to command and by way of a continuous retrospective, discover just how this man arrived at this embarrassing predicament. First there was the South African campaign, then the Great War saw him gain some prominence and also, after quite a few scrapes, sees him befriend his opposite number, as it were, in the form of the dashing German "Theo" (a beautifully understated contribution from Anton Walbrook). Becoming firm friends, they share the same social circles and it's here that "Candy" meets his future wife - Deborah Kerr. Trials and tribulations and then WWII all affect this man as he is promoted through the ranks and faces tragedy very close to home before the realisation that, at an elderly age, perhaps he is no longer of any value! What Powell and Pressburger have encapsulated into just over 2½ hours here, is a delightfully evocative story that deals with friendship and honour, with love, despair and the human desire to feel needed and wanted - but never without losing sight of the humanity of the situations and, quite often, with some degree of dark and stoic humour. There is a lovely chemistry between Livesey and Walbrook, and Deborah Kerr positively glows as she remains the woman in his life - in various guises - throughout. The contrast between the evolving behaviours is subtly but potently drawn here: we see a society that no longer considered any "niceties" of war - symptomatic of a sea of changing attitudes with which both men struggle to adapt. Sure, there's nostalgia - but it's of a palpable and immersive nature. IT's not at all sentimental. We take sides initially - jingoism isn't far away, but certainly as it progresses and the decency of these individuals is laid bare, I found myself rather admiring the integrity on display here from two different but remarkably similar perspectives. As to that display, the aesthetic of this film is glorious. The wartime sets, the bucolic and peaceful scenes, the romance, the disaster - all delivered here with great skill by Georges Périnal's artistic touch and Allan Gray's charmingly complementary score. I can't really pick a favourite P&P film, but the three leads and the accomplished supporting cast assembled here make this one of their very best, complex and thought-provoking efforts that looks fantastic on a big screen.