neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Two Men Went To War
	John Henderson Kenneth Cranham, Leo Bill, Derek Jacobi, Rosanna Lavelle, Phyllida Law, James Fleet, Julian Glover, David Ryall 2002		In the tradition of British military comedies, "Two Men Went to War" falls between the grim humor of "How I Won the War" and the silliness of "Carry On Sergeant." "Two Men..." is a lighthearted, unfussy character study based on a wild but true story from World War II. In 1942, two members of Great Britain's Army Dental Corps are stuck on the home front — and raring to fight for their country. So the aging Sgt. Peter King (Kenneth Cranham) and the green Pvt. Leslie Cuthbertson (Leo Bill) go AWOL to mount their own two-man invasion of occupied France, where they plan to somehow thwart the German war machine. To aid their cause, King and Cuthbertson have two revolvers, a bunch of grenades, a map and no sense of direction. They're at a serious disadvantage; still, they forge onward. With the aid of a cheerful young woman from a seaside town, the soldiers steal a boat and start across the English Channel. Meanwhile, the letter that King wrote to explain his plan is sitting unopened on the desk of Winston Churchill's chief intelligence advisor, Major Merton (Derek Jacobi). The sergeant and the private are accused of deserting, as they put their lives on the line for King and Country. With its Mutt & Jeff heroes, its good-natured humor and the nostalgia factor, "Two Men..." provides a pleasant, uplifting sidebar to history.