WILLIAM IVORY

THE GREAT ESCAPER (2024)

Starring Michael Caine and Glenda Jackson. Directed by Oliver Parker.

In the summer of 2014 - the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings - octogenarian Bernie Jordan made global headlines. He’d staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades.

It was a story that captured the imagination of the world - Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, “can- do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story. It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart.

Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Irene - the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we can all learn from the Greatest Generation.