‘The Forgotten Battle’ Review

It’s hard to put a finger on what is forgotten about The Forgotten Battle. The Battle of the Scheldt has a highly detailed Wikipedia page, for example, and while that’s hardly a reliable source, it’s fair to say the film’s subject seems anything but forgotten. One then assumes it’s a metaphorical thing, right? But no—there’s no indication that anything shown in the film is lost to memory or history.

Weird titles aside, as World War II closes, the Netherlands are on the cusp of liberation as the critical Belgian port of Antwerp becomes a major strategic prize. Marinus (Gijs Blom), a German solider by choice, begins to discover that Nazis are, in fact, kinda shitty, whilst Teuntje (Susan Radder) joins a Dutch spy ring and a British bad-boy-with-daddy-issues (Jamie Flatters) wants to prove to everyone he can move beyond his father’s influence. Expect that ubiquitous blue-gray color palette of most WWII movies.

The Forgotten Battle’s surface level experience is passable with early-50s dad vibes folded well with choreographed battle sequences and attractive young people cut down in their prime. There’s not much else beyond that. The Tarantino-esque attempts at tension flail more than they fright, for example, and the three intersecting plots would probably have worked better under the Wachowskis. If the movie’s message is that 1939-1945 was a crummy time for Europe, well...yes. Indeed it was.

Here, though, the greater elements lack exploration: British class divisions, how generational poverty helped the Nazis fill their ranks and a resistance that wasn’t purely patriotic. These elements are tossed aside for expensive booms (indeed, so many booms that The Forgotten Battle ranks as one of the most expensive Dutch films ever made), and while it isn’t a terrible time if you’ve got an interest in WWII, as a war film, it’s as average as one can expect. Honestly? There are plenty of worse films in the bargain bin of streaming services we call Netflix.

6

+ History nerds will love it

- Seen it before

The Forgotten Battle

Directed by Matthijs van Heijningen Jr.

With Blom, Radder and Flatters

Netflix, NR, 124 min