An amazing movie

There was this simple ad in the newspaper that caught my attention in the morning. It was about the movie ‘My Boy Jack’ that was to be telecast in the night at 9 PM. It also mentioned about Daniel Radcliffe playing a role in it. I remember wondering at that time whether it will be worth watching and also what is this movie doing on the History Channel. Little did I realise at that time that much later in the day, late into the night, I will be thoroughly devastated.

I returned home a bit late, which is as usual, and caught up with the movie that had just started off… it was only when the movie was over that I realized I hadn't moved from my seat throughout. I hadn't touched the remote either.

What a riveting performance by David Haig who plays Rudyard Kipling! Much later into the night, learnt the secret behind the brilliance – he had been living with this story for the past 22 years by the time the movie was shot! He had written a play by the same name and had donned the same role in it much before the movie was made.

To quote him from an interview “The film version of My Boy Jack was written 11 years ago, 11 years after I was handed the biography of Rudyard Kipling by Ed Herrmann in New York. It’s taken 22 years to effectively realise this dream.” It was also very interesting to learn that David has a very close resemblance to the actual Rudyard Kipling! I was totally blown off by the performance of the entire cast.

Well, the storyline goes like this ( unfortunately I missed the link to this on the net, so unable to link back to the source) “It’s 1915 and World War 1 has been declared. Aged only 17, Rudyard Kipling’s son John “Jack” (Daniel Radcliffe), like most of his generation, is swept up in the enthusiasm to fight the Germans, a mood stoked vigorously by his father. Jack is cripplingly short-sighted and the Army has rejected him twice, rendering him too myopic even for an Army suffering thousands of casualties a week and desperate for recruits. Yet Rudyard is undeterred, determined that his son should go to the Front, like countless other young men, and fight for the values that he, Rudyard, espouses so publicly.

Using his fame and influence, Rudyard persuades Lord Roberts, on his death bed, to get Jack a commission in the Irish guards. This intervention is barely tolerated by Carrie and daughter Elise (Carey Mulligan) as they disagree Jack is fit to fight and fear for his safety on the front line.

Jack is instantly popular with his troop – he is a great leader and trains tirelessly to overcome the disability that is his eyesight. Six months later Jack sails to France as a lieutenant. In his pocket is a spare pair of spectacles and written permission from his father to travel to the Front before his eighteenth birthday. On the day of his birthday, Jack is told they will go over the top the following day. Days later, the Kipling family are informed that Jack is ‘missing believed wounded’, news which devastates them and leaves Elsie furious at her father for his part in Jack’s fate.

Desperately clinging to the hope that their son is still alive, Carrie and Rudyard scour hospitals and obsessively track down and interview survivors. Two years later, Jack’s friend and fellow Irish Guard Private Bowe (Martin McCann) arrives at Bateman’s, the Kiplings’ home in Sussex. Suffering from shell shock, he finally describes to the assembled family what had happened in the Battle of Loos.”

I won’t give away any spoilers, in case you haven't seen this film yet. It is a real heart wrencher. Hats off to the entire team for such a wonderful movie. It reminded me of a similar haunting experience that I had while watching Roberto Benigni in 'Life is Beautiful'. I couldn't sleep that night too.

Here is the poem which Rudyard Kipling wrote for his son which features in the film too.

“Have you news of my boy Jack?”
Not this tide.

“When d’you think that he’ll come back?

”Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Has any one else had word of him?”

Not this tide.

For what is sunk will hardly swim,

Not with this wind blowing, and this tide.

“Oh, dear, what comfort can I find?”

None this tide,

Nor any tide,

Except he did not shame his kind—

Not even with that wind blowing, and that tide.
Then hold your head up all the more,

This tide,

And every tide;

Because he was the son you bore,

And gave to that wind blowing and that tide!