A Foreign Field (10 Sep. 1993)

Veterans return to Normandie on the 50th anniversary of D Day for their own special and poignant reasons, among them two looking for an old love who turns out to the same woman for both.

Director:

Charles Sturridge

Writers:

Roy Clarke, Roy Clarke

Stars:

Alec Guinness, Leo McKern, Edward Herrmann

Cast

Episode complete credited cast:
Alec Guinness	...	Amos
Leo McKern	...	Cyril
Edward Herrmann	...	Ralph
John Randolph	...	Waldo
Geraldine Chaplin	...	Beverly
Lauren Bacall	...	Lisa
Dorothy Grumbar	...	Matron
Jeanne Moreau	...	Angelique
Michelle Gheleyns-Hue	...	Shopkeeper
Cateline Alteirac	...	Sales Assistant

Storyline

Amos and Cyril are a pair of British veterans from WWII, going back to Normandy 50 years after D-Day to visit an old buddy's grave. There, they run into Waldo, an American WWII vet. And both Waldo and Cyril run into a French woman they were both enamored of in their soldiering days and begin squabbling over her. Waldo's son and daughter-in-law are putting up with him and each other. And the entire group meet up with a woman who has come to visit the grave of her brother. Together, they form an odd camaraderie, bound by the past as they share their memories

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Plot Keywords:

grave | normandy | d day | french | memory | 

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Genres:

Comedy | Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | War

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Details

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

10 September 1993 (UK)

Filming Locations:

Calvados, France

Company Credits

Production Co:

British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC), Fingertip Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

95 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.33 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

Originally broadcast on BBC1 in the UK as part of their Screen One series.

User Reviews

Emotional reaction guaranteed

I first saw this when it aired on television, over here in England, with a rather muted fanfare. We were politely made aware that it was to be shown and (the trailer was very gentlemanly) the viewer should watch the film, should you so wish.

I did. Guinness, McKern, Moreau and Bacall tempted me. At first, and I dread to say this, the double act of McKern and the character Guinness played made me think this was going to simply be a comic treat. I was wrong, but that isn't to say that the humour doesn't hit the mark every single time. The script draws you in and strips away, delicately, your defences and you laugh with the characters in such a way that the little tragedies that begin to appear have you feel something very real, in that special place you have deep inside that is normally reserved for close family and friends.

In the end I was, and still do ever since (no matter how hard I sometimes think I'll try not to), end up watching the credits with tears streaming down my face and smiling through them at a little, beautifully placed jam jar.