I should know better

I took myself off - at last - to see MILLION DOLLAR BABY, just to see why………Well, it`s a boxing flick. And it owes to all the others in that genre. It`s very predictable and fits like a well-worn shoe. But I like boxing flicks and there`s a satisfaction in seeing the cliches and conventions dealt with well. And of course there`s the Eastwood charisma, and a nice downbeat ending. Really retro, though, and ot exactly pushing back any boundaries. A nice safe choice..

There was also a trail for UNTERGANG, the new film on – Hitler. It`s German, but the subject matter alone makes it big over here.

Hitler again. Of course it`s slightly different for the Germans, but why are we British still so obsessed with the evil little psychopath after all this time? From TV drama and documentary to school-level history he`s a prime topic.. We have other history, equally valid. We even have other psychohpaths – Stalin, I think, was an even greater monster and probably caused more atrocities and killed more people

But we`re not falling over ourselves to play him on the screen or bring out yet another book on him, Of course he was an ally……..

It`s important to know your history and learn from it, but I think we would learn more of immediate value by turning our focus on our post-war history. I grew up with the post-war euphoria of “building a Greater Britain” and I think I know why it all ran away down the drain. Most schoolkids studying history are nore likely to be experts on what Hitler`s dog was called, and what he liked to eat. . An obsession with one war and one man is profitless and unhealthy.

I don`t appreciate war films and will not be seeing UNTERGANG..