The Movies that Inspire Me

 3/9/22 -  Darkest Hour:  I watched this movie over the weekend on Netflix. I was struck by how timely it was. This week President Zelenskyy of Ukraine used Churchill’s speech at the end of the movie, to speak to the UK Parliament.

It feels like history is repeating itself, that this is Ukraine’s Darkest Hour. Will our leaders act like Churchill who pushed to keep fighting, or will they act more like Neville Chamberlain? If you haven’t heard of him, he’s the one who gave away Czechoslovakia and Poland, who wanted to negotiate peace with Hitler.
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This is my 2nd time watching this movie, but I’ll watch it one more time . . . because there’s so much historical detail. And so much heart.  

These are Amazon’s Description of the movie’s Key Historical Figures, along with their biographies. I hope you read and discover who led the UK successfully through WWII, Churchill or Lord Halifax? If you want to go a little further, who is today’s Churchill? And, today’s Halifax/Neville Chamberlain? 
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                                                                                 PS - The movie is in COLOR!​
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​                     Winston Churchill (Gary Oldman)
A longtime member of parliament, Winston Churchill is appointed Prime Minister of Great Britain in May of 1940 as Nazi troops are spreading across Europe. As the battlefront nears closer to England and with the entire British Army trapped at Dunkirk, he is immediately faced with a daunting choice: attempt a peace treaty with the Nazis to save his citizens or rally the war-weary nation behind the continued fight against tyranny.

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         Clementine Churchill (Kristin Scott Thomas)
Churchill's wife of 31 years at the time is both his emotional support and his intellectual equal. His adored 'Clemmie' is his most trusted confidante as well as critic, and is essential in helping him shape his strategic policy.

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                   King George VI (Ben Mendelsohn)
King George reluctantly appoints Churchill to Prime Minister in May of 1940 as the threat of a Nazi invasion of Great Britain looms.

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                            Elizabeth Layton (Lily James)
Elizabeth is Churchill's extremely loyal and attentive secretary. She begins working for him early in his appointment to Prime Minister as he writes several extremely important speeches crucial to bolstering the morale and patriotism of the public as the war rages on.

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                             Lord Halifax (Stephen Dillane)
Lord Halifax is Foreign Secretary of the U.K. when Churchill is appointed Prime Minister. Not trusting Churchill's instincts, he advocates for negotiating a peace treaty with Germany at odds with Churchill's belief that any treaty would endanger the U.K.'s sovereignty and would radically change the balance of power throughout Europe.

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