This is a guest post by reader Gingermuse. It’s a review of the film, Darkest Hour, about the early days of WWII as the Nazis close in on Britain.
Gingermuse-
Having seen the recently released film Darkest Hour, I was grateful that I had just gotten far enough into the Winston Churchill biography The Last Lion by William Manchester to have read about the events portrayed in the film. But throughout the film I was also struck by the similarities between Churchill and Donald Trump.
History provides perspective to those willing to study. Churchill was the right man at the right time and quite possibly the only man who was capable of saving the world. He spent his entire adult life preparing himself for the moment in history when he alone would lead the world to victory.
The film opens with members of parliament agonizing over who should replace Neville Chamberlain after his resignation as prime minister. Neither houses of parliament wanted Churchill. He had been on the outs with the government for years. In the end, Churchill was their only choice going forward.
The British system of government differs from the U.S. of course, but considering how the powers in both the Republican and Democrat parties despise Trump, the comparison is inevitable. While Churchill spent his entire life in politics, Trump only recently entered politics after a life in business, but each rose to their respective pinnacle in electoral government in spite of almost total political opposition.
After Churchill becomes prime minister, the film portrays the difficult decision of whether to further negotiate with the Nazis or to fight, with many in parliament hoping to avoid war by giving in. There was nothing in Churchill’s being that could or would accept the idea of giving in. His “never never never never give up” attitude did, in fact, save the world. Churchill was a man of action. He wasn’t perfect and he hasn’t been canonized—yet. But there was no one else on the planet at the time that could have done what he did leading up to and during the war. To this day, there are many who are unwilling, because of political bias and outright hatred, to give to Churchill the credit he is due.
Churchill literally ran everywhere he went and was tireless in his quest for victory over the Nazis. He often came off as inconsiderate, saying things that were at best considered impolite. He also had a quick wit and great humor. As for public speaking, Churchill was both a master speech writer and orator. While the subway scene in the movie is a dramatic characterization, he was also a man who regularly talked with and connected to the people.
Trump is known as a 20-hour- a-day guy and is tireless in his quest for winning and for America to be great again. Trump comes off as brash and rude, and yet, people who know him describe him as very warm, friendly and loyal. Trump may not have the greatest delivery when giving prepared speeches, but he is a master of messaging—a brilliant marketing tactician. And funny.
In his own way, Trump has also spent his entire life preparing himself to seize upon the critical moment in history when the country and even the world needed his unique abilities. Trump has been keenly observing the political and economic environment of the U.S. and the world for years. The time had come to fight for dramatic change in the direction of the county. For Trump, and those of us paying attention, it was “now or never.”
He knew that the only way to win the nomination and the presidency itself was to go directly to the people, blowing past both of the corrupt and entrenched political parties as well as the biased, insider, cultish news media. The bull-in- the-china- shop strategy meant that he was going to break things—but only that which needed breaking, i.e., political correctness, status quo campaigning, establishment malaise, big government bureaucracy, biased news media, hypocritical Hollywood and more. Like Churchill, Trump isn’t perfect. But like Churchill, Trump is a man of action.
With all the accomplishments of his first year as president, we already see that he won’t be given the credit he deserves as the economy improves, bloated government shrinks and foreign leaders sit up a little straighter in their chairs. No one else on the planet could have beaten back his own party, the opposition party, the anointed candidate Hillary, the news media and the Never Trumpers. No one.
!snip!
(Here’s Gingermuse’s review of iOTWreport. I think this critic has a real future!! lol)
iOTWreport.com is more entertaining than any other news/opinion/politics site that I monitor. While I am a vigorous daily reader of all things news and politics, iOTW always seems to find a few stories I haven’t caught elsewhere. And, perhaps even more importantly, they inject humor at every turn, hilariously sticking it to the hypocritical loony left without reservation. Finally, they find ways to offer a break from what can often seem like endless fake news aggravation with reminders that life is still more than the politics of the day (e.g., animal photo collections). They have their own style while creating the sense that we are all in it together. I don’t start or end my day without checking in. iOTWreport.com— true patriots fighting the fight—with some wicked humor thrown in for good measure!
Where do we find this thing called iOTWreport?😜
I gotta go find some dried mangos…….
Oh yes. BFH is taken in by a redheaded vixen 🙂 What else is new? Did I miss something?
I don’t see many movies but I’ll probably see that. I’ll be checking out iOTW as well.
Is this your way of saying you want a guest post Mr. TR?
(What color is your hair?)
profound thanks to Gingermuse! … great leaders (especially those in the Caliphate of Great Britistan) are today, greatly maligned. Globalization is God.
I really want to see it, but will wait until I don’t have to go to the theatre. Unless it’s churchill in 3D. I saw Dunkirk at theatre. Terrible.
I’m going to get that book mentioned, “The Last Lion” by William Manchester. I’d love to learn more about the man.
Great review of the movie. I just might check it out (usually just watch one movie a year in the theater).
@PHenry: You should have gone to the theater. Much better there.
I think Michael Anton’s essay “ Flight 93” addressed our situation quite well.
i hape that afters PDJT’s war on everything the USA isnt broke like Britain was.
Remember baby barack sent back Churchills bust.
That says much.
Well, you know, I’m just not that fast on the draw to put the man into a category. How long did we hear “He’s no Reagan”. Now some are saying he’s more conservative the Reagan. Maybe. Different time. I have a lot of faith in this guy. Let’s let him write his own destiny and one year in seem a little soon to me.
Great review!
You should see the film in the theater for Gary Oldman’s portrayal, alone. But it goes well beyond that. Geoff C. and I agree that it is not only Britain’s Darkest Hour, but it is more particularly about Churchill’s Darkest Hour. My criticism about the film is that, if you know Churchill at all, the one thing about him is that he would have never taken Halifax or Chamberlain seriously about negotiating with the fascist, Mussolini, which is a main theme of the film. Like Trump, Churchill was never going to negotiate with tyrants, so this one aspect tries to make Churchill seem more human but uses the wrong example to make its point.
The film does an excellent job of conveying the do or die climax of saving the men at Dunkirk and the miracle of getting the parliament to believe in their island country as much as the shop keeper, farmer and dock worker did. Keep your tissues handy.
Just saw it yesterday with AA it is a very good look at a very short time at the beginning as prime Minster it moves at a good clip is well acted, the only thing that I did not care for was it was to dark (the filming). Well worth watching if you like history and Churchill.
The darkness in the title comes from his own feeling of darkness as he felt alone in his battle against Chamberlain and
Halifax and others in call to arms and the need to not give into demands for peace with Hitler.
I would give it 4 stars.
Thanks to Gingermuse for their reviews of the movie AND iotwr!
We’re planning on seeing the movie this week (only the second movie we’ve gone to since Independence Day).
Off topic –
HOW ‘BOUT THEM DAWGS!!!!!
Winston S. Churchill saved Western Civilization from fascism. Ronald W. Reagan saved Western Civilization from the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. Donald J. Trump saved the United States of America from Hillary Rodham Clinton.
unfortunately, i won’t be paying for movie tickets even for this one, which is obviously worth the money…
and it’s because…..
…….i am SERIOUSLY TIRED of having my eardrums raped by overly loud movies……sure, they have all this quiet time, when you have to really listen….and then….WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAAM, your eardrums are bleeding……well….um….
no thanks…..
last time i went to a theatre movie was the first of the new superman movies….i ended up shoving popcorn in my ears to save my hearing….
won’t EVER go back….home is where the heart is…..also, the pause button and the toilet….and the volume control…..and the comfotable seat…
you want me to watch your movie? make it available to me at home…..box office is out of the question..
to all yall movie theaters……TURN DOWN THE VOLUME…..you might convince a few of us to come back…..
not me, tho……i’m tired of “i promise to do such-and-such”………..i just don’t believe it anymore…..
oh, and…..
i din’t even vote for joe manchin…….
even tho i could have……..
yeah, i’m tired of “i promise to do such-and-such”….lots of us are…..
maybe even enough of us….we shall see…..
I would also recommend –
Hero of the Empire: The Boer War, a Daring Escape, and the Making of Winston Churchill by Candice Millard.
The Last Lion by William Manchester is an excellent biography of Winston Churchill. Having said that it is also a volume set chronicling almost all of Churchill’s long life. it is also about 2400-2500 pages long, I read it all about a yr. or so ago and bought my son in law the first volume for Christmas last yr. It is well worth reading, I don’t know if they have a condensed version. I read a lot so large books don’t daunt me, I love Moby Dick and Les Miserables which some people don’t read because the books are very long. And I also like Dostoevsky, go figure.
Ironic thing about Chamberlain was that he was one of Churchill’s biggest supports once Churchill became PM and Chamberlain was on the council (or whatever it is called).
Beyond the latest Churchill movie, I recommend Albert Finney and Vanessa Redgrave in “The Gathering Storm.” (The sequel, “Into the Storm” is also very good.)
Don’t forget “Dunkirk.”
History will not look kindly on all the liberal human speed bumps jeering at Trump and his agenda, now. Obama — hell, all the way back to Clinton — has left a big mess on Trump’s plate, the least of which is North Korea.
Trump is America’s Churchill, the *only* man who will be able to save America (and perhaps the world). He’s the only guy who can pull the sword out of the stone. ….the only one.
History has chosen him, not vice versa, I suspect. And, for one, I am grateful. I see the need, the problem; I could never do what he is able to do. America is very lucky. ….Lady in Red
Loved the movie !! The most telling scene was the phone call between Churchill and FDR. England is hanging by a thread and FDR tells him that there is absolutely nothing that he can do to help…
Hope that puts a chink into the armor around FDR, who enlarged our Federal bureaucracy beyond anything before.
We saw “Darkest Hour” yesterday.
Well acted. Well told story.
I don’t think anyone in the theater got up once during the entire movie. It is well worth the money and time. Most movies are not.
Gary Oldman is great and the other actors are also.
Halifax was interesting. He didn’t want to be Prime Minister during a time of war. “It’s not my time”. If He had become PM, England would have been overtaken.
@Loretta, we thought the same about FDR. We talked about it after. FDR lied to Churchill numerous times. If he had had his way, Europe would have become part of the German empire. He and his actions remind us of Obama and the Middle East.
God places the correct people in places of power at critical times throughout history. There is nobody that can convince me that DJT’s election was not an act of God. As was Churchill’s.
He always works through a remnant and has always desired a people for himself, America has been given another chance by our Father, my He have mercy on us and bless DJT!
Churchill stood alone for many months in opposing and fighting the Nazis. Today’s media would denounce him as a “nationalist”.
We saw it yesterday. Well worth watching in the theater (and we don’t watch many in the theater). To Chuckie’s comment about the sound, it wasn’t bad.
When the movie started I really disliked Chamberlain the appeaser. When the movie ended, I detested Chamberlain as not only an appeaser, but also a coward. What a worthless buffoon. Highly reminiscent of a McCain, Graham, Schumer or Pelosi.
If the movie played out with any historical accuracy (specific to how the characters came along in their thinking), (spoiler alert) kudos to the king. Without his support Churchill could never have pulled it off.
As far as the comparisons to Trump, they are definitely there. Ignoring the simpering fools who control the parties, both men saw what needed to be done, went directly to the people for validation and approval and set off to make it happen.
May God have Trump’s back, as there is no king to do it this time.
BFH – – Great review of IOTW. I hope it leads to prosperity for 2018!
I watched the movie yesterday and it is well worth your time to see it at the theater.
I’ve read all three volumes of The Last Lion twice over the last few years. You can skip volume one. Volumes two and three speak to our time and are great reads.
Frank,
I so agree with you. I have seen God’s hand in saving the United States in the same way He has worked through flawed humans throughout the history of the world.
I respectfully disagree, Page O Turner. Because he wanted to save his own nation and culture from foreign oppression and extinction, and because he didn’t hate the working poor as much as todays elites, nor sell them out to the highest bidder, he would have been called a populist. Or alt-right.
Churchill was a hero in our family as my Father fought in World War II and my Mother was an English War bride. You can google Tottenham Road, the Blitz and see the bombed street my Mother lived on. They lost many neighbors during the Blitz and ultimately the remaining children were all evacuated to the countryside with families that took them in.
My Mother was so fond of Churchill and General Bernard Montgomery that any new child or pet in the family was an occasion for her to beg the parents to name them Churchill or Montgomery. Of course the name never quite fit so her request was repeatedly denied. Eventually she named a pitiful old ally cat Montgomery. I told her he wasn’t dignified enough for the title but she loved the name and the cat none the less. Monty was treated like Royalty.
chuckie JANUARY 2, 2018 AT 1:32 AM
.…….i am SERIOUSLY TIRED of having my eardrums raped by overly loud movies……sure, they have all this quiet time, when you have to really listen….and then….WHAM BAM THANK YOU MAAM, your eardrums are bleeding……well….to all yall movie theaters……TURN DOWN THE VOLUME…..you might convince a few of us to come back…..
1000 thumbs up! Even dvd’s have the music over-ride the dialog so you can’t hear what’s going on. Years ago my girlfriend and I complained about it at the theater and the young punk manager was shocked saying most people liked it loud! Haven’t been to a theater in over 10 years. Screw ’em.
Wasn’t it Churchill that coined the phrase ‘Iron Curtain’? At a speech in Missouri?
I’m getting old…
Best thing about watching mocies at hoem…SUBTITLES!
or at least movies at home 😉
“Speaking the truth in times of universal deceit is a revolutionary act.” Geo. Orwell
@Burner — You are correct in that. Truman invited Churchill to speak at Westminster College in Fulton, MO in 1946. Truman was still the Prez, but Churchill was out as PM (Clement Atlee was the new PM). Churchill said that an iron curtain was descending over Europe — so true.
When the Berlin Wall fell, chunks of it was sent over to Westminster College, and there is a modern sculpture there, where you can walk thru “holes in the wall” from tyranny to freedom. They even transported one of the old London churches that had been bombed during the Blitz, and rebuilt it on the campus.