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Doesn't make sense. I've got the Blitzkrieg going on above me, I think I'll just stop and ride it out. A frustrating scene. You would think if you didn't know what spot was safe you would just drive that much faster to try and get to your shelter. I'd feel a little guilty in the church scene at the end.
I don't know really to be honest, I personally would be tempted to make a run for it and reach further safety but I can see why they stopped because they were slightly safer dead in the woods than they might otherwise have been on the main roads where buildings were falling down and explosions were happening. But yes, if she had made a run for it, poor Carol probably wouldn't have died. I have always thought it should have been Vin who died and not Carol. I don't have anything against Vin, I just think it would have been more expected for the audience as we are lead from the moment he joins the RAF that he may be killed.
I do however cringe at the bit where Carol sees the plane crashing down and whimpers 'it could be Viv'. RAF planes never had two engines on them, only planes of the Luftwafe had them. I know she wouldn't have been an expert on planes, neither am I but as she was married to an RAF officer she would most definately have known that.
England expects every man will do his duty - Lord Horatio Nelson, Trafalgar 1805
In retrospect, Vin was very definately the beloved plot device known as the red herring, we were all expecting that to happen to him because we were being cued by every other main character, and it was a scary time for the British in WWII anyway. Carol's ironic fate just brought home the uncertainty and injustice of war.
shareYou're probably right about that. Yes, Carol's tragic death certainly does show the senselesness of war and that is obviously what the vicar was talking about at the end of the film. You are right.
Indeed it was a scary time for the British in the earlier years of WWII (it was only round 1943 that it seemed victory would definately be ours or on our side at least). My grandmother served in the WRENS throughout the entire war. Although she rarely talks about it, the stories she does come up with are quite extraordinary. My father served in the RAF for 15 years and he saw action in the Falklands War. He too, never talks about it but when he been coaxed to tell a tale or two the things he comes up with are pretty scary. War is a strange business. This is why when I hopefully join the Royal Navy, I intend to be posted to the Gulf.
England expects every man will do his duty - Lord Horatio Nelson, Trafalgar 1805
Yeah, Vin surviving was really surprising. This is still a pretty early Best Picture winner, and I was expecting something more traditional, like him dying. Cavalcade, the Best Picture winner of 1933, didn't pull many surprises (aside from one really shocking scene where some characters step away from a railing, and we see the name of something on a life saver). I just thought Vin was going to be a halfway point plot device of "the son's death" for the family to grieve over, and add some drama. I was happy that didn't happen!
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I know what gold does to men's souls.
Mark 1589 is right. When there is a battle happening just over your head, or you see a burning airplane flying toward you, you might become terror stricken and freeze.
It’s tough to decide where to be and what to do. No choice is a good one. All you can depend on is blind luck and you might as well be playing High or Low with the devil at that point.
When Mrs Miniver notices that something is wrong with Carol, and notices the bullet holes in the ceiling of the car, I was blown too.
I was touched by the character deaths of Carol, but also the endearing Mr Ballard and the choir boy.
Smoke me a kipper. I’ll be back for breakfast
"RAF planes never had two engines on them, only planes of the Luftwafe had them."
The British deHavilland DH98 Mosquito was a twin-engine fighter in RAF service during the time frame of this film.
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not to be the "technical geek" but the British had quite a few 2 engine planes. One of the best was the de Havilland Mosquito. Twin engine light bomber made almost entirely with wood. Carol saw a plane crash... her husband Vin flew a plane, that's all she would have known or cared about.
"Whenever Mrs. Kissell breaks wind, we beat the dog."
I know this is a really old post, but the British Mosquito had 2 engines.
"Hitler! C'mon, I'll buy you a glass of lemonade."
It's not true that the British didn't have two-engine fighters. For example, the RAF used the Bristol Beaufighter, including in the Battle of Britain. Here's more:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bristol_Beaufighter
I could be wrong but was given to believe that much of the purpose of this film was to increase sympathy in America (not yet at war) for the cause of the struggling British against Nazi Germany. Yes, it's sad when military personnel are killed but most viewers would find it even more heart wrenching to see this lovely young civilian wife so randomly killed, sort of a fictional representative of all the British civilian losses resulting from the German bombing.
Good luck to basford from me as well!
It's funny though. It was nice how they avoided the cliche of the airman dying in action, but I was hoping he'd die the whole way through the film. I love Garson, Wright and Pidgeon, but Ney did absolutely nothing for me. I actually wanted him out of the picture within the first hour...
shareDon't forget that this movie is not just about war, but about total war...
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"Endlich hat ein Hitler-Attentat geklappt" (Henryk M. Broder)
Exactly how much faster are you supposed to drive when it is pitch-black dark outside? This is supposed to be in 1939/1940. They had blackouts, which means no lights shining anywhere whatsover. Plus, you're in the country. Don't let the "cinema lights" fool you. With the lights out, you'd be driving at a crawl. If they turn the lights on, they're suddenly a target on the ground.
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In contrast to one of the posters, I do not expect that Carol would have been able to spot the difference between an RAF and a Luftwaffe plan, and in any case was probably too stressed out to really be fully observant. In the same vein, I wouldn't expect the two women to know that their best bet would have been to jump out of the car and crawl under it (as the steel frame would provide them the maximum protection). But I think that was part of the point of the film - these were people who simply were not ready for the reality of total war and would have to adjust fast - unfortunately for Carol, she was one of the early victims.
shareYeah - if that had been me, AND if I had any good sense in my head, I'd have AT LEAST gotten OUT of the car after stopping it, and found some less conspicuous place to be, such as perhaps around the base of a large old tree, or in some dense underbrush, etc., etc. Parking in a shiny car smack-dab in the centre of a road just seemed stupid, and like asking for trouble, to me! If I had been Mrs. Miniver, I'd have felt at least slightly responsible for the death of my son's young new wife!
shareI believe more people were killed in car accidents during the blackout than died in bombing raids.
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