The Adventures of Young Indiana Jones: The Trenches of Hell (1999) (V)

User Rating:

6.3/10   

Director:

Simon Wincer

Writers:

Jonathan Hensleigh (writer) &
George Lucas (story)

Genre:

Adventure | War

Plot:

August, 1917. Using the name 'Henri Defense', 17 year old Indiana Jones has enlisted in the Belgian army to fight in the Great War...

Plot Keywords:

Indiana Jones | Flamethrower | Poison Gas | Prisoner Of War | Shot In The Back

Cast

Sean Patrick Flanery	...	Indiana Jones (archive footage)
Ronny Coutteure	...	Remy (archive footage)
Jason Flemyng	...	Emile (archive footage)
Richard Ridings	...	André (archive footage)
Simon Hepworth	...	Tutu (archive footage)
Jonathan Phillips	...	Jacques (archive footage)
Yves Beneyton	...	Benet (archive footage)
Hervé Pauchon	...	Charles De Gaulle (archive footage)
Stevan Rimkus	...	Sassoon (archive footage)
Jamie Glover	...	Graves (archive footage)
Miles Anderson	...	Giscard (archive footage)
Paul Rattigan	...	Lieutenant Moreau (archive footage)
Edward Petherbridge	...	Bilideau (archive footage)
Joe Searby	...	Garcoyne (archive footage)
Steve Nicolson	...	British Sergeant (archive footage)

Runtime:

USA:89 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Certification:

UK:12

Filming Locations:

Barrandov Studios, Prague, Czech Republic

Company:

Amblin Entertainment

Movie Connections:

Edited from "The Young Indiana Jones Chronicles: Somme, Early August 1916 (#2.2)" (1992)

Young men learn the true horror of trench warfare in WW1, don't be put off by the involvement of Indiana.

I came to this by chance having always previously avoided anything with Indiana Jones in the title, which I suspected signified unsophisticated adventure movies where "our hero" always wins through, against seemingly insurmountable odds.

I watched from the very beginning, but did not realize it was an IJ movie until the very end, by which time it was only just becoming clear as to who the true hero was. That was because we saw the joinings and partings as the warriors progressed, and it was not until later in the film it became clear whose career we were ultimately following. That remained so until the last few minutes when there was a final parting of the remaining warriors in our story.

I do not know how precisely realistic it is but I was impressed that we were given an insight into the sort of tactics employed in "going over the top" from the trenches of the Somme in Belgium,

We were introduced to the conflicts between the French, Belgium and English allies and even to the poetry of Seigfried Sassoon who came to be recognised as one of the great English war poets. War is not glorified although it is just a little bit to clean and tidy to be completely believable. We see death and fighting but not blood, gore and body parts.

No indication is given to what the war was really about other than a passing reference to the industrialists who benefited from munitions manufacture, but I am not sure that anyone truly understands why WW1 was fought other than it was a power struggle fought in the way of 19th century tactics but with the earliest high power weapons that made the 20th century so notorious for mass war killings and woundings.

Then towards the end we see "our hero" confront the reality of being a prisoner of war and it is only then it all becomes a little bit too "Boys Ownish". I have to admit I was gripped to the somewhat abrupt end, which came far too soon for me and had me scurrying to the internet to find out more about the film and the WW1 experiences depicted!

I wonder if the other "young Indy" films are as worthwhile? I shall certainly give another a viewing if I see one scheduled.