In Which We Serve: Noël Coward, David Lean

David Lean was a film-maker who could work on two scales: an intense, personal one and a grand, sweeping, operatic one.  He would direct some of the most sincere and beloved dramas to ever grace England, such as Brief Encounter and Hobson's Choice.  But later in his career, he was instrumental in the development of the historical epic with The Bridge Over the River Kwai, Lawrence of Arabia, and Doctor Zhivago.  Here, in his first film, David Lean proves that he would soon become a mastery of both methods of film-making.  In Which We Serve is based off the true exploits of Captain Lord Louis Mountbatten, captain of the destroyer HMS Kelly which was destroyed during the Battle of Crete.  The film starts with a montage of the ship being built by sturdy, patriotic English workers that would feel more at home in a Soviet film.  It goes on to feature intense battle footage as the ship wages war against German destroyers, supply ships, and bombers.  The ship is eventually hit so hard that it begins to sink.  The captain gives the order to abandon ship.  Once in the water, the film shifts its focus on a group of survivors clinging to a life-raft.  It flashes back to their lives back home and the forces and decisions that led to their entry into the Navy.  Each of these sections is heart-warming and emotional in a way that feels oddly non-contrived, especially considering that this film was essentially a piece of propaganda.  As the film explores their ship's past and the lives of its crew, a picture of the British Navy emerges: one that is simultaneously immensely humanistic and daring.  The human drama is not lost to the fire of cannon and machine gun.  With In Which We Serve, David Lean announced himself as one of the best new talents of British cinema.

8/10