I love everything about it. The story, the characters; the period sets, and the costumes - which are perfect.
As you know I love the WW2 era; I have a special attachment to this period, because of my special attachment to my Grandparents, who lived during this time.
I have a fascination with women in the War Era and all they endured and how they lived while the world around them was in chaos.
I love the fashions, the hair, the hats, the cars, the music, the dancing, the home decor, the Victory Gardens, the crafts projects, the objects, the movies, the magazines - everything. And I have made it a little hobby of mine to research and sometimes emulate the ladies of this time. It makes me think of my beloved Grandma and Grandpa. (Grandpa was in the Army and fought in Europe; Grandma was a WAVE and tracked weather.)
Anyhoo, back to the movie:
It is a story of a young English woman, Lily, who meets, falls in love with, and marries a Canadian soldier in London during the height of WW2. They get married in a hurry, and soon enough he is rushed off to fight on the front; leaving her alone.... and pregnant.
The Canadian Government sends for many of the wives of the Canadian soldiers and brings them to Canada to be looked after by the soldier's families. I suppose it was some kind of patriotic, "boost the morale on the home front" kind of political scheme. So she, her young baby, and her BFF decide to travel to Canada and get away from war torn London.
Lily's bff "lucks out" and finds out her hubby's family is wealthy and welcomes her with open arms; but poor Lily and her baby are met with cold indifference by her husband's mother and sister - who are poor and live on a farm in the wilderness.
Instead of welcoming Lily and her baby with warmth and affection, they resent her and her strange English ways; leaving Lily feeling alone and miserable.
As the months drag on, Lily learns to cope with farm life and she struggles to form a decent relationship with her new family, and the community, who do not care for her much either.
(I love the scenes in the 40s farmhouse kitchen and farm; it's just so adorable.)
Lily loves to sew and soon starts sewing pretty little things for the ladies in the community.
Soon, Charlie (her husband) arrives home - but he is a changed man. The horrors of war have made him sad and bitter; and he is not the man she remembers. Still, she is determined to start anew, and in time he unloads his feelings and his heart begins to thaw.
The mother and sister also begin to accept Lily, and the community as well.
By the end of the movie, the War has ended, and all is well between Lily and Charlie. The family is beginning to form a bond and everyone finds peace with each other.
It is definitely a new favorite of mine and one I can watch again for sure! It is available on Netflix to watch instantly; and in segments on You Tube as well.
I highly recommend it.
(However; if you are sensitive to kissing/make-out type scenes, you may have two or three to skip. But there is nothing R rated in the movie. It's actually rated PG)
I have been eyeing this on netflix for a long time, now. I couldn't decide whether it looked good or not--I will definitely give it a watch. Thanks for the recommendation! :)
ReplyDeleteHi Hosanna!
ReplyDeleteI've been having fun looking at your blog but this post really hit home. My mother was from England and became a war bride when she met my Canadian father during WW2. They spoke of marriage but something happened and they broke up. My father went over to France to fight but was wounded and was in hospital for quite a while. One day he was back in the village where he met my Mom and he heard a honk...it was my Mom driving a 2 tonne troupe truck (she also drove ambulance during the war). They rekindled their relationship and married in England right after the war. Pop came home to Canada and about a month or so later my Mom followed. I was born 7 years later. In 91 I was contacted by a lady in England...she turned out to be my half sister. I never knew that I had a sister and lived my life as an only child...so did she. We met in 91 and have only seen each other 5 times but I love her and regret we lost so many years together. I wrote about it in my blog not long after I started it. Anyway...this post just brought back a lot of memories for me...thank you.
Maura :)
What a neat story Maura! How cool that you found you had a 1/2 sister. Thanks for posting this! :)
ReplyDeleteI don’t understand why Charlie came home before the war ended. My understanding is that like American soldiers, Canadian soldiers remained in Europe for “the duration”. Unless I missed this, the movie doesn’t answer this question.
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