Queen & Country

The hilarious highlight of John Boorman's Hope and Glory (1987), nominated for five Oscars: nine-year-old Bill Rohan rejoices in the destruction of his school by an errant Luftwaffe bomb. This movie picks up the story nearly a decade later as Bill (Boorman's alter-ego) (Callum Turner) begins basic training in the early fifties, during the Korean War. Bill is joined by a trouble-making Army mate, Percy (Caleb Landry Jones). They never get near South Korea, but engage in a constant battle of wits with the Catch-22-worthy, Sergeant Major Bradley (David Thewlis). Richard E. Grant is their superior, the very infinitely put-upon, aptly-named, Major Cross. —Karen Cooper, Director, Film Forum