Cross Of Honour DVD Review

Director: Peter Naess, Petter Naess

Starring: David Cross, Florian Lukas, Lachlan Nieboer, Stig Henrik Hoff, Rupert Grint

Certificate: 15

Running time: 100 minutes

Synopsis: Two aircrews of opposing sides of the war crash in the same place, and the surviving pilots must work together to survive the harsh bitterness of the Norwegian mountains…

You already know the setup for CROSS OF HONOUR. You already know (pretty much) how it’s going to pan out. With a film like this, though, you’re not in it for the result: you’re in it for the journey.

It’s 1940; two planes are downed in the Norwegian mountains, and their crews crossed paths in the same cabin, seeking refuge. There’s one catch: they’re on different sides of the raging war. And neither side is content to let the other be in control; neither side is content to remain the other’s prisoner. And so a tale erupts of enemies-turning-friends; of unlikely friendships and the will of humanity.

Yes, it’s all overly familiar, with nothing inherently different. What sets CROSS OF HONOUR apart is its performances; each and every one of the main five cast members excels, refusing to succumb to shallow stereotypes (though oft straying dangerously close). On the British side, upper class boy Lachlan Nieboer is Captain Davenport, accompanied by his working class Liverpudlian gunner Smith (Rupert Grint). Luckily, there’s no twaddle about class differences here: the pair play off each other succinctly. There is a war going on, after all.

Meanwhile, on the German side, a trio of compatriots round off the main cast: Florian Lukas is Lieutenant Schopis, Stig Henrik Hoff is Sergeant Strunk and David Kross plays junior officer (and Hitler-worshipping) Schwartz, who idolises the personally signed copy of Mein Kampf – which, of course, he carries everywhere. Indeed, it’s as CROSS OF HONOUR opens that you worry the characters could become such bland stereotypes; the smug British boy, the radical German youth – but that fear is soon assuaged.

Though, of course, it must be conceded that it is only assuaged by predictability; predictability that German good nature will prevail and that the lads will become jolly good friends. Schwartz slips least towards this trend, and thus remains closest to stereotype territory, but when the choice is only one of the two, where else can he go? As the wise ex-Weasley remarks to the German Sergeant Strunk at one point, they’re only choosing the lesser of two evils.

Still, the tale has a couple of twists, with weapons constantly changing hands in the endless power struggle between the two sides – and whether the characters conform too heavily to our predicted sensibilities or not, the cast are still given plenty of room to explore their nuances by directors Peter and Petter Naess; directors who do a decent job themselves. The cuts come too quickly at times and the first half hour is slightly disorienting in its pace, but otherwise this is very finely photographed and composed.

Rupert Grint is the biggest name attached but certainly doesn’t steal the show (despite his fantastic accent); Florian Lukas displays plenty of emotion as the chief German player and gives arguably the best performance. But even then it’s hard to single one out when the entire principal cast does so well. CROSS OF HONOUR achieves in its human component what it fails to achieve in its story: a reason to watch.

Extras: Zilch, zip, zero, nada and diddly squat. Oh well.

CROSS OF HONOUR is released on DVD on Monday 1st October 2012.