The Rocket Post

I saw this at the 2004 Stony Brook Film Festival in NY and it was very warmly received. In this pre-WW2 film, a pair of German rocket scientists are working on the Scottish Isle of Scarp as war looms on the horizon. The characters encountered on the island are priceless in their creation and their portrayal. Shauna MacDonald is particularly memorable

After getting up to speed on the "Scootish" accents, the viewer feel right at home with these folk who watch with amusement as the Germans work to link their isle with the mainland via a rocket-based mail delivery. As implausible as it seems, this film was based on an actual story.

All in all, a memorable film that will stay with you for some time thanks to its casting, its story or its scenery.

Mainly set on a remote island off the coast of Harris, called Scarp, the "The Rocket Post" is a well made, acted and plotted film, slightly based on truth. It follows themes of: mail rockets, which were being designed and tested just before WWII; of romance; and of life on many of the Scottish Islands. The film may not mean much for people who are not familiar with Scottish landscapes or pre-war history and political ideas in Europe in the 1930's, but those who do know Scottish landscapes and something of the period of this film, hopefully, will find the film entertaining, intriguing and emotional.

I particularly warmed to the main characters, the Rocket Scientist Gerhard Zucher and Catriona Mackay, who will soon leave the island on which she has grown up to study at St Andrews. The relationship between the two is sweet, if a little predictable, but to just wait and watch them throughout the film makes it more exciting and beautiful. The scenery of the island and the depiction of life around croft farming is well done and give the viewer an idea of the hardiness and traditions that have almost gone from Scotland and its Isles, but which I'm sure many from those parts of Britain would like to keep.

I recommend this film to those who know something about Scotland and Nazi Germany before the War, and for those who wish to watch a moving, partly romantic story.

I enjoyed watching 'The Rocket Post'. Not because it was especially well made, well acted, original or gripping - it really wasn't. But because it had an unusual story set in a wonderful location, plus a certain charm that I found really engaging.

Sometimes a film can be low budget, predictable, a bit flakey in places, but still enjoyable. This is one of those.

The film supposedly tells the true story of German rocket scientist Gerhard Zucher, and his sidekick Heinz, who arrive on the remote Scottish Isle of Scarp just before the second world war. There they experiment with a rocket to deliver mail from the isle to the mainland, as well as getting to grips with the ways of the sceptical local islanders (there's at least a whiff of 'Whiskey Galore' about the residents of Scarp).

One of those locals is Catriona Mackay (played by a wide-eyed Shauna Macdonald). She provides a love interest for Gerhard which, although a little hard to believe, is essential to the success of the film. The movie is as much a love story as it is anything else.

How much of this tall tale is true might be debatable. Gerhart certainly existed and certainly did rocket experiments in Scotland and England to deliver letters, but there is probably a healthy dose of cinematic licence in the story telling. In any case, it really doesn't matter.

The cast deliver their roles well enough, but the real star has to be the setting - the wonderful scenery certainly steals the show.

A feel good film for the most part - with moments of gentle humour - it is not quite all lightness and sweet; the influence of Nazi Germany and that regime's interest in rocket technology provides another thread to the story.

All in all a modest and in places almost amateurish film that nevertheless was a lovely watch. Recommended if you're likely to enjoy a warm, easy-paced and slightly unusual tale.

You'd have to be a hard person indeed not to be moved by this honest and lovely tale. Beautiful location, capably shot, in great colour with good camera-work, this is an easy one for the eyes. A high-calibre and wide cast give poise and earnestness to the characters here, many (if not all) being very endearing indeed. The moving soundtrack is perfectly also tuned. You'll have no problem imagining this idyllic isolated world just prior to WWII. A triumph.

A wonderfully thoughtful and involving movie that leaves an imprint well beyond it's initial liftoff. Based on a true story , one of the many "small" stories prior to WW II , that lend an understanding to the mindsets of the majority of common man cultures, impacted by others perceived as former enemies and perhaps future foes, with the darkening of war clouds on the horizon. Viewed at the Stony Brook Film festival, the film was enthusiastically received . Well written and expertly cast. The characters were most believable and drew one in to experience their trials and tribulations.