Till We Meet Again (Borzage, 1944): BFI Southbank, NFT2, 6.30pm
BFI introduction for UK premiere of digital restoration:When a US plane is shot down in occupied France, its pilot finds shelter in a convent. He encounters a young novice who agrees to help him escape the country, to save him and his secret cache of documents from the Nazis. The night casts a veil of intimacy over the couple, who develop a bond beyond physical love. Full of suspense and expressionistic chiaroscuro, this transcendental drama remains striking for its mix of thrill, torment and wonder. Restored in 4K by Universal Pictures and The Film Foundation at NBCUniversal StudioPost laboratory, from the original 35mm negative nitrate, a 35mm composite fine grain and the 35mm optical sound track negative nitrate. Special thanks to Martin Scorsese and Steven Spielberg.
Time Out review:
Frank Borzage's admirers - and who'll not claim at least associate membership
of that circle? - will find this movie to be in a familiar case. The
writing suggests melodrama at its most mechanical and life cheapening,
yet the director infuses individual scenes with such warmth and
spontaneity as to ensure that the affections are celebrated even as
they're being betrayed. This time the love affair is explicitly
non-sexual, since the plot is to do with shot down flyer Ray Milland and
virginal nun Britton pretending to be husband and wife while on the run
in occupied France - a situation requiring fancy footwork from all
concerned to keep the censors at bay. It's salutary to watch the usually
tight-lipped Milland transformed into a model Borzage hero,
enthusiastic and brimming with tenderness.
Here (and above) is the trailer.
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