ONE AGAINST THE WIND Movie Review

1991 Larry Elikann

Larry Elikann's fact-based made-for-TV film about the French Resistance is every bit as good as its big-screen counterparts. In many ways, it takes a deliberately old-fashioned approach to its subject, with solid characters and attitudes that could have come straight from the 1940s.

Countess Mary Lindell (Judy Davis), English by birth, French by marriage and choice, works for the Red Cross in German-occupied Paris. She apparently intends to remain neutral, as she did in World War I, until she spots a disheveled man (Sam Neill) in a sidewalk cafe and realizes that he is a British officer. (It's the boots that give him away.) Acting on impulse and quick wits, she saves him from the Germans. He's Maj. James Leggatt, who missed the boat at Dunkirk, was captured and then injured when he escaped. Mary agrees to help him. Her two teenaged children, Maurice (Christien Anholt) and Barbe (Kate Beckinsale), are horrified.

The act begins her relationship with British intelligence and the Underground railroad that spirits downed pilots out of France. It also brings her to the attention of SS Col. Gruber (Anthony Higgins). At the same time, Barbe is falling for Lt. Erich Von Stultsberg (Mikush Alexander), a handsome hunk of Nazi bratwurst.

From that premise, it's easy to see where many of the conflicts are going to arise, but writer Chris Bryant still keeps viewers guessing. As is usually the case with wartime film biographies, things begin fairly realistically. By the end, credibility has been sacrificed to the soapy heroics so common to the genre. Where does fact end and fiction begin in Lawrence of Arabia? In Sergeant York? Besides, historical truth is less important than good storytelling.

On the most basic what's-going-to-happen-next? level, the film works beautifully. It was shot in Luxembourg with top-drawer production values. The producers may have been forced to cut some corners in explosive special effects and elaborate stuntwork, but that is not a loss. Instead, Elikann keeps the camera on his star and she delivers. Judy Davis has made her career playing sharp, aggressive, abrasive women (Absolute Power, Husbands and Wives, etc.). This is one of her best and most appealing. As always, Sam Neill gives strong support and Anthony Higgins is a silky villain.

Throughout, that attention to character sets One Against the Wind apart from the field. Given its non-theatrical lineage, the film has never received much promotional or critical attention. As such, it's one of the best sleepers in the video store.

Cast: Judy Davis (Mary Lindell), Sam Neill (James Leggatt), Denholm Elliott (Fr. LeBlanc), Anthony Higgins (Herman Gruber), Christien Anholt (Maurice Lindell), Kate Beckinsale (Barbe), Frank Middlemass (Dubois), Benedick Blythe (SS Captain), Peter Cellier (Court General), Stefan Gryff (Fernand), Mark Wing-Davey (Col. Miles), John Savident (Henry Smallwood), David Ryall (Dumont), Tom Hodgkins (Big Canada), Wolf Kahler (Cmdr. Reingart), Michael Crossman (Little Canada), Terry Taplin (Von Bismarck), Mikush Alexander (Erich Von Stultsberg); Written by: Chris Bryant; Cinematography by: Denis Lewiston; Music by: Lee Holdridge. MPAA Rating: PG. Running Time: 96 minutes. Format: VHS, Closed Caption.