Hurricane (2018 film)

{{Infobox film

| name = Hurricane

| image = Hurricane 2018 film poster.jpg

| caption = Theatrical release poster

| director = David Blair

| producer = {{Plainlist|

Krystian Kozlowski
Matthew Whyte

}}

| screenplay = {{Plainlist|

Alastair Galbraith
Robert Ryan

}}

| based_on =

| story =

| starring = {{Plainlist|

}}

| narrator =

| music = Laura Rossi

| cinematography = Piotr Sliskowski

| editing = Sean Barton

| studio = {{Plainlist|

Lipsync Productions
Prospect 3
Stray Dog Films

}}

| distributor = {{Plainlist|

Kaleidoscope Film Distribution (Theatrical)
Kino Świat (Poland)

}}

| released = {{Film date|2018|08|09|Poland|2018|09|07|Worldwide}}

| runtime = 123 minutes

| country = Poland
United Kingdom

| language = English
Polish

| budget = $10 million

| gross = $2.1 million{{cite web |url=https://www.boxofficemojo.com/title/tt7515456/|title=Mission of Honor (2018)|work=Box Office Mojo|access-date=February 23, 2023}}

}}

Hurricane, also known as Hurricane: 303 Squadron, and as Mission of Honor in the United States (Polish: 303: Bitwa o Anglię), is a 2018 biographical war film, produced by Krystian Kozlowski and Matthew Whyte, directed by David Blair, and written by Alastair Galbraith and Robert Ryan. The film stars Iwan Rheon, with Milo Gibson, Stefanie Martini, Marcin Dorociński, Kryštof Hádek and Christopher Jaciow in supporting roles.{{cite news |last= McKenzie |first= Steven |title= Scot directs new film on WW2 Polish fighters |work= BBC News |date= 19 July 2018 |url= https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-scotland-44884812 |accessdate= November 24, 2018 }}{{cite web |last= Gibbs |first= Bill |title= Scots director behind Battle of Britain epic Hurricane |url= https://www.sundaypost.com/fp/scots-director-behind-battle-of-britain-epic-hurricane-has-a-surprise-admission-hes-been-afraid-over-flying-for-over-30-years/ |website= Sunday Post |accessdate= November 24, 2018 }} Hurricane depicts the experiences of a group of Polish pilots of No. 303 Squadron RAF ({{lang|pl|Dywizjon}} 303) in the Battle of Britain in the Second World War. The film had its premiere in Warsaw, Poland on 17 August 2018. It was released in the UK on the 7 September 2018.

The movie debuted at almost exactly the same time as the Polish production 303 Squadron, often leading to confusion between two films, especially in Poland.

Plot

The pilots of No. 303 Squadron RAF, part of the Free Polish Air Force, have escaped from Europe, following the Nazi invasions of Poland and France, to join the Royal Air Force. Czech Josef František, refusing to become a bomber pilot, invites himself into the newly formed unit. Canadian RAF pilot John Kent, who became affectionately known as "Kentowski", has his work cut out for him when he is handed the angry and often maligned squadron to command.{{cite web |author= Garrett Hunter |title= HURRICANE Film review (Mission of Honor) |url= https://www.britflicks.com/page/hurricane-film-reviewmission-of-honor/ |website= www.britflicks.com }} Piloting Hawker Hurricane fighter aircraft, 303 Squadron works through language barriers, cultural differences and their grief on the loss of loved ones to become highly effective in the Battle of Britain. At the conclusion, the Polish pilots are told that they will be repatriated to communist Poland.{{cite web |title= Hurricane (2018) Movie Script |url= https://www.springfieldspringfield.co.uk/movie_script.php?movie=hurricane |website= Springfield! Springfield! }}

Cast

Iwan Rheon as Jan Zumbach
Milo Gibson as John A. Kent
Stefanie Martini as Phyllis Lambert
Kryštof Hádek as Josef František
Marcin Dorociński as Witold Urbanowicz
Christopher Jaciow as Zdzisław Henneberg
Nicholas Farrell as Sir Hugh Dowding
Robert Portal as Keith Park
Sam Hoare as Kellett
Teresa Mahoney as McCormac

Production

The script is not a historical depiction of all events. One news item provided this comment after researching the content of the film and the actual history: "the film attempted to stick close to fact, but the needs of dramatic action often swayed the plot into fictitious and occasionally unrealistic narratives".{{cite web |url=https://culture.pl/en/article/hurricane-303-film-fact-vs-fiction |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181013014342/https://culture.pl/en/article/hurricane-303-film-fact-vs-fiction |url-status=live |archive-date=13 October 2018 |title=Hurricane & Dywizjon |first1=Juliette |last1=Bretan |date=September 21, 2018 |accessdate=December 12, 2019 }} In late 2017 and early 2018 some scenes were shot on the Kent coast at Stone Bay and Victoria Gardens in Broadstairs.

{{cite web |author=Kent Film Office |url=https://kentfilmoffice.co.uk/2018/09/hurricane-2018/|title= Hurricane (2018) Article}}

Reception

On Rotten Tomatoes, the film (as Mission of Honor) has an approval rating of {{RT data|score}} based on reviews from {{RT data|count|spell=y}} critics, with an average rating of {{RT data|average}}.{{cite web|url=https://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/mission_of_honor_2019|title=Mission of Honor (2018)|website=Rotten Tomatoes|publisher=Fandango|access-date={{RT data|access date}}}}

The review in The Guardian was mixed, with a 3/5 rating. Leslie Felperin made this concluding comment: "The lack of budget, relative to Dunkirk at least, is glaring in the aerial dogfights, and the score is too maudlin and on the nose, but director David Blair navigates the whole thing through the storm with watchable competence".{{cite web |date= 6 September 2018 | author = Leslie Felperin |title= Hurricane review – all guns blazing in the Battle of Britain skies |url= https://www.theguardian.com/film/2018/sep/06/hurricane-review-david-blair-battle-of-britain |website= The Guardian |access-date= 24 August 2019}}

Home Media

Mission of Honor was released April 30, 2019, by Cinedigm on Region A Blu-ray, DVD, and streaming video.

References

=Further reading=

[https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/stories-45516556 Josef Frantisek: The Battle of Britain's Czech hero]
Fighting Back by Martin Sugarman, 2017 pub by Valentine Mitchell - chapter on Jews in the Battle of Britain; details on Zygmunt Klein
Olson, Lynne and Stanley Cloud. A Question of Honor: the Kościuszko Squadron in World War II. New York: Random House, 2003. {{ISBN|978-0-375-41197-7}}.