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Six Minutes to Midnight
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Wikipedia article
'Six Minutes to Midnight' is a 2020 British war drama film directed by Andy Goddard from a screenplay (loosely based on a true story) by Goddard, Celyn Jones and Eddie Izzard, starring Izzard, Judi Dench, Carla Juri, James D'Arcy and Jim Broadbent.
'Six Minutes to Midnight' was released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2021, by Sky Cinema. The film received mixed reviews from critics.
Plot
Shortly before World War II, the Augusta-Victoria College, is a finishing school for daughters of the Nazi elite, located in the English coastal town of Bexhill-on-Sea. The school is under surveillance by the British secret service. British agent Miller, masquerading as a school teacher, is seeking to discover what happened to his predecessor, who has disappeared. Some time passes and the school heads to the beach to swim. There the body of the old teacher is found in the shallows.
Agent Miller looks for clues and during a party he overhears a German agent tell PT instructor Ilse Keller of plans to secretly repatriate the students to Germany. Miller rushes to his commander to tell him the news but Keller comes and shoots the commander and frames Miller for it. Miller flees to the seaside town where next morning all around the town there are posters advertising his being wanted for murder. His likeness is also on the front page of the local newspaper.
Despite disguising himself as a bandsman in a stolen uniform and joining a parade, he is caught and incarcerated in the local police cell, then extracted by detective Captain Drey and his corporal Willis. Miller reveals his identity as a British agent to Drey, offering a microfilm stashed at the school as evidence of his role. They take the handcuffed Miller back to the school to recover the film cassette containing a copy of Keller's list of British undercover operatives in Germany. Drey is a German agent. At the school, Miller overpowers Drey and goes on the run again. Local busdriver Charlie sees him along the road, and drives him to his farm, where, believing Millers story, he uses a hacksaw to remove the cuffs. Miller finds a phone box miles from anywhere and has just enough time to pass on the code phrase "Six Minutes to Midnight" to his superiors before Drey and Willis arrive. Miller, realizing that Corporal Willis is not a German agent, starts talking. Drey turns and shoots Willis as his cover has been blown; Miller runs for it, and Drey takes his time casually shooting at Miller before sighting for the kill. Before Drey can fire at Miller again, the dying Willis shoots his superior.
Miller returns to the school, where principal Rocholl finds her charges all gone. They have been led, some reluctantly, by Keller to a clifftop paddock where they form two lines to mark out a landing strip. It is getting dark when the Luftwaffe plane arrives and the 'Mdchen' light their flares and hold them aloft, but an RAF Spitfire arrives and the triple-engine intruder turns away just as Miller and Rocholl pull up in Willis car. Keller pulls a gun, intending to shoot one of the dissident girls, but Miller talks her out of it; the girls run to Rocholl, and Keller surrenders to Miller.
A few days later, Miller says goodbye to Rocholl in her office at the school, and the girls sing a parting chorus of "It's a Long Way to Tipperary". From a Bakelite radio comes Chamberlain's voice announcing that Britain is at war with Germany.
Cast
* Eddie Izzard as Thomas Miller
* Dame Judi Dench as Miss Rocholl
* Carla Juri as Ilse Keller
* James D'Arcy as Captain Drey
* Jim Broadbent as Charlie
* Celyn Jones as Corporal Willis
* David Schofield as Colonel Smith
* Maria Dragus as Astrid
* Tijan Marei as Gretel
Production
Eddie Izzard first wrote the script with Celyn Jones, having acted together in the BBC wartime drama Castles In The Sky. The story takes place in Bexhill-on-Sea where Izzard grew up. Izzard's former girlfriend, Sarah Townsend, was originally set to direct the film following previous collaborations on documentaries with Izzard. Andy Goddard, who is known for his work on 'Downton Abbey' was later announced as director. The same day, Judi Dench was cast as the headmistress. Lionsgate distributed the film domestically, with the international distribution rights currently up for sale.
Principal photography began on July 3, 2018 and ran for six weeks, shooting in Wales and various locations around the UK.
Release
The film was released in the United Kingdom on 26 March 2021 by Sky Cinema. It was previously scheduled to be released on 29 May 2020, by Lionsgate, but was delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic. IFC Films distributed the film in the United States, where it was also released on 26 March 2021.
Reception
In a review for RogerEbert.com, critic Nell Minow writes: "The issues of individual, cultural, and national loyaltyand when and how to respond to aggressive actions by other nationsare relegated to the background of some weak chase scenes and plot twists."
On Rotten Tomatoes, the film has an approval rating of based on reviews, with an average rating of . The website's critics consensus reads: "'Six Minutes to Midnight' has a fascinating fact-based WWII-era story to tell, but largely loses it in muddled spy shenanigans." On Metacritic, it has a weighted average score of 50 out of 100 based on reviews from 14 critics, indicating "mixed or average reviews".
References
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