This year, StudioCanal continues their run of British war film re-releases with a spectacular, 4k 16-bit restoration of the true-life tale of French-born war heroine, Odette Sansom.
Leaving behind her three young daughters and life in Britain to spy for the Special Operations Executive (SOE) during the Second World War, Odette quickly finds herself in the heart of occupied France with the enemy closing in.
Eventually taken to Ravensbruck concentration camp, Odette—played by the utterly compelling Anna Neagle—must survive interrogation and torture, as the Nazi Commandant attempts to extract her secrets and the names of her fellow Resistance fighters.
Like many British war films, Odette doe not glamorise or sanitise war. Nor does it resort to lazy, flag-waving sentiment. Rather it focuses on the human stories and the human cost of waging war.
Odette is one of those films that’s often overshadowed by other ‘50s classics, such as Ice Cold In Alex, Escape From Colditz, and The Wooden Horse. And that’s a shame because there are too few films that feature women at war. With the 75th anniversary of D-Day this year, this film is a welcome and moving reminder that not all battles are fought in the trenches.