A Savage Christmas: The Fall of Hong Kong (1992) (TV)

Director:

Brian McKenna

Writers:

Brian McKenna (writer)
Terence McKenna (writer)

Release Date:

12 January 1992 (Canada)

Genre:

Documentary | Drama | War

Plot Keywords:

Place Name In Title | British Army | Massacre | Japanese Army | British Empire

Cast

Terence McKenna	...	Narrator (voice)
Andrew Tarbet	...	John Payne
Jean-Michel Henry	...	Armand Bourbonniere
Randy Hughson	...	Laurie Mackay
David Hewlett	...	Walter Jenkins
Keibo Oiwa	...	Japanese officer
Greg Spottiswood	...	John Stroud
Paul-Augustin Querton	...	Roger Cyr
Brooke Johnson	...	Kay Christie
Martin Julien	...	Les Canivet
Andrew Miller	...	Ike Friesen
Jeremy Ratchford	...	Fred Reich
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
Shinsuki Adachi	...	Himself (Japanese Imperial Army)
Robert Clayton	...	Himself (Royal Rifles of Canada) (as Bob Clayton)
Bob Grillo	...	Himself (US Navy)
Shigetoki Hitoki	...	Himself (Japanese Imperial Army)
Shuichi Kawata	...	Himself (Japanese Imperial Army)
Robert Manchester	...	Himself (Winnipeg Grenadiers) (also archive footage) (as Bob Manchester)

Also Known As:

La bataille de Hong Kong (Canada: French title)
La bravoure et le mépris, partie 1 (Canada: French title) (series title)
Savage Christmas: Hong Kong 1941
The Valour and the Horror, Part 1 (Canada: English title) (series title)

Runtime:

104 min

Country:

Canada

Language:

English | Japanese

Color:

Black and White | Color

Company:

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC)

Movie Connections:

Followed by In Desperate Battle: Normandy 1944 (1992) (TV)

Superb Documentary

This is the story of how Canadian servicemen were thoughtlessly hung out to dry and endure the onslaught of the Japanese Imperial Army during the latter's take-over of the British colony of Hong Kong in December of 1941.

One of the great questions arising from the documentary is how a group of soldiers who were previously serving barracks duty in the Jamaica could be put in harm's way, let alone confront the fearsome Japanese. The filmmakers re-construct the chain of events expertly, thereby allowing the viewer to inhabit an emotion of outrage on behalf of those Canadian troops.

Contrary to another reviewer's opinion, I hold that there is ample evidence in the film which documents the wholesale neglect claimed by the film's directors. Not only does the Canadian government look awful but so too do the British. By letting racist constructs determine their level of preparedness, the British added to the tragedy.

This film is a testament to the notion that governments determine when wars are fought and citizens are the ones who pay the ultimate consequences.