Film No. 1 (2015) January 1st. 10.50 AM LUNA SX Fremantle.
The Quote: "Sometimes, it is the people no one imagines anything of who do the things that no one can imagine".
The Imitation Game
Given the fact that his breaking of the German coded message system during World War II meant the war ended two years earlier than would otherwise have been the case, thus saving 14 million allied lives, Alan Turing must surely be a war hero of the highest order. Sir Winston Churchill said Turing made the greatest single contribution to the war effort. So why was this war hero treated so treacherously by his country at wars' end? The Imitation Game partially answers that question, but it will make your blood boil.
Benedict Cumberbatch (Turing) is superb as the possibly autistic mathematician and cryptographer employed by his country to break the Enigma code; Germany's elaborate messaging system. Turing was a misunderstood genius who figured that a messaging system developed daily by a machine could be broken only by another machine. Cumberbatch portrays a man who grapled with his sexuality while trying to convince the authorities of his theories. All this while at the same time learning, parrot fashion, how to form a bond with his team.
Based on Andrew Hodges's biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, The Imitation Game takes Hodges well researched material and builds a tense character driven drama. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters 2011) balances key scenes depicting Turing's past with the present, then the future with such mastery that we are never in doubt about how we should feel about Turing. Young Alan played by Alex Lawther is superb and so integral to revealing the Cumberbatch version of Turing.
The Enigma story has always been a fascinating one. It's been told a few times before but not nearly as well as in this version. The story has always deserved this treatment but because of the 50 year official secrets act the revelation of all the details has been slow. Like Churchill himself, once the war was over, Turing had lost his gloss. His demise as a human being is torturous and not deserving of someone so noble. He was born of the wrong time but it was lucky for us that he was. See the film, I could not recommend it more highly. 11GUMS
Given the fact that his breaking of the German coded message system during World War II meant the war ended two years earlier than would otherwise have been the case, thus saving 14 million allied lives, Alan Turing must surely be a war hero of the highest order. Sir Winston Churchill said Turing made the greatest single contribution to the war effort. So why was this war hero treated so treacherously by his country at wars' end? The Imitation Game partially answers that question, but it will make your blood boil.
Benedict Cumberbatch (Turing) is superb as the possibly autistic mathematician and cryptographer employed by his country to break the Enigma code; Germany's elaborate messaging system. Turing was a misunderstood genius who figured that a messaging system developed daily by a machine could be broken only by another machine. Cumberbatch portrays a man who grapled with his sexuality while trying to convince the authorities of his theories. All this while at the same time learning, parrot fashion, how to form a bond with his team.
Based on Andrew Hodges's biography Alan Turing: The Enigma, The Imitation Game takes Hodges well researched material and builds a tense character driven drama. Norwegian director Morten Tyldum (Headhunters 2011) balances key scenes depicting Turing's past with the present, then the future with such mastery that we are never in doubt about how we should feel about Turing. Young Alan played by Alex Lawther is superb and so integral to revealing the Cumberbatch version of Turing.
The Enigma story has always been a fascinating one. It's been told a few times before but not nearly as well as in this version. The story has always deserved this treatment but because of the 50 year official secrets act the revelation of all the details has been slow. Like Churchill himself, once the war was over, Turing had lost his gloss. His demise as a human being is torturous and not deserving of someone so noble. He was born of the wrong time but it was lucky for us that he was. See the film, I could not recommend it more highly. 11GUMS
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