Director: Andy De Emmony
Country of origin and year of release: UK, 2013
This made for TV film premiered on the BBC in 2013 but its origins lie much further back than that.
The Wipers Times was a trench newspaper published by The Sherwood Forresters, a troop of British soldiers stationed at Ypres during World War I (the term 'Wipers' refers to British army troops mistaken pronunciation of Ypres) who stumbled across an abandoned printing press in 1916 and decided to make use of it to start a newspaper for the troops, by the troops.
At the time, much of the British coverage of World War I was of the chest-beatingly patriotic, jingoistic nature, as perpetrated by the notorious Willam Beech Thomas (satirised in The Wipers Times as Teach Bombers) who reported (supposedly from the trenches, but much more likely from far beyond the fighting) for the Daily Mail. There is a story from the time of one of Beech Thomas' stories being stuck to one of the trenches, with the addendum 'If he comes here: Shoot him', suggesting that British troops stationed in Ypres and elsewhere had their own strong feelings about the war, and about Beech Thomas' reporting of it.
While The Wipers Times features in museum archives such as the World War I exhibition at the Imperial War Museum, and the complete run of the trench newspapers are available to buy in facsimile form as a book, the story of Captain Fred Roberts (editor) and Lieutenant Jack Pearson (sub-editor) and their wartime foray into journalism isn't well known.
Ian Hislop and Nick Newman, who wrote the script for The Wipers Times, were inspired to write the film following a short radio documentary Hislop had made about the publication for Radio 4 a number of years previously. Hislop has gone on record a number of times (including in the extras on the DVD) to say that he feels The Wipers Times is one of Private Eye's natural ancestors. The source material for the screenplay was his earlier research, alongside Roberts' memoir, and The Wipers Times itself.
Since the film was made, The Wipers Times has gone on to become an equally successful stage play, essentially making the reverse journey to that made by Oh! What A Lovely War back in the 1960s. It seems inevitable to compare The Wipers Times to Oh! What A Lovely War, given the biting satirical tone of both the soldiers songs it draws on and the articles The Wipers Times draws on. There's even a subtle mention of The Wipers Times in Oh! What A Lovely War, just as there are music hall skits and songs in The Wipers Times. Similarly, both of these productions would find common ground with the more well known Blackadder Goes Forth, which was also famously set in the trenches of WWI.
The film was shot on location in Northern Ireland, with Ben Chaplin playing Fred Roberts and Julian Rhind-Tutt playing Jack Pearson. The story begins with the Sherwood Forresters out scavenging for wood and supplies amidst the bombed out ruins of Ypres, during the course of which they discover the printing press and decide to bring it back to their trench. One of the troops, it turns out, used to be a printer and knows how to operate the machine and Roberts has the whimsical idea of starting their own publication "Like Punch, but funny".
Things go well and the publication is a big hit with the soldiers, leading to further editions and to Roberts and Pearson correcting prose and making editorial decisions amidst constant bombardment and fighting. Inevitably, not long after, the printing press is destroyed in a bombardment, leading to one of the most touching moments in the film: The troops carrying bits of decimated printing press as though they are mourning their best friend.
A new press is located, meaning it's game on so far as The Wipers Times is concerned, but the troops activities have come to the attention of the high ups, and they are (largely) not pleased.
Michael Palin puts in an exquisite turn as one of the few military commanders who, you suspect, has a bit of a soft spot for The Wipers Times and serves as a good source of support for Roberts and Pearson, just as their slightly eccentric command and compassionate attitude towards the men under their command serve as a good contrast to some of the more prim and proper military commanders.
The film, much like the original source material, doesn't shy away from the horrors of war. It also acknowledges that The Wipers Times didn't stay in Ypres, with the title changing according to where the troops were stationed. Eventually they stopped including their location in the title, for intelligence reasons, but it's known that the Sherwood Forresters were at Passchendaele and at The Somme. In the latter case, twice.
The film balances a light humorous tone with genuine pathos, poignancy and tragedy. There are also Pathé style comedy set pieces and music hall sing alongs, conveying the spirit of The Wipers Times as well as of the times.
As war films go, this is an unusual one. But it's well worth a watch.
No comments:
Post a Comment