This Is England

This Is England is an English film (obviously) that was released in 2007 about a young boy trying to deal with the death of his father during the Falklands War (1983).  While dealing with the death of his father, he befriends a group of teenage Skinheads.  Weak and bullied around school, this group of Skinheads took in little Shaun as one of there own.  But as he ran with the group, thinking he's fighting the same war as them, he became well aware of who they really are.

Thomas Turgoose is the very talented young man who played Shaun.  Barely a teenager, he was able to steal the screen away from the other actors in the movie.  Rightfully so, he won Most Promising Newcomer at The British Independent Film Awards for his debut performance in this movie.  My only fault with him would have to be his teeth.  This kid has got some really crazy chompers.  I don't think this is a good enough reason for not hiring this kid for upcoming movies, but I figured I'd point out the obvious.  

British Films intrigue me because as similar as the USA and England's beliefs are, we are still millions of miles apart (in theory).  The movie jumps around on the major plot line a little bit, but nothing to worry about.  I just think that the transition could have been a little more smoother.  On a good note, the background plot of this film about the Falklands War has so much relevance to the current status of the US.  Many people in America feel like the war in Iraq and Afghanistan should never of happened, that we shouldn't be there.  But America never turns on their troops and that is exactly what happened in this film.  Shaun got upset because he was told that his father, who died in the war, had died for nothing and that is not true.  The British people never wanted to go to war, much like most of the American people.  Other similarities between England then, and America today: high unemployment rate, illegal immigrants taking jobs (that the unemployed "don't want") and hatred toward Middle Easterners. 

All in all, I would definitely recommend this film to anyone.  As long as you don't mind paying extra attention to the dialog because sometimes it is extremely hard to understand those blokes.

In Festy We Trust