Lee is a film about a significant war correspondent during World War II. It was released at the time of the first anniversary of the Hamas attack on Israel, October 2023, world audiences seeing a year of invasion, bombings, destruction, Israel’s invasion revenge, the deaths of so many Palestinians followed by the bombings and invasion of Lebanon. Audiences worldwide depend on war correspondents and war photographers for these images and information. In 2023-2024, more than 200 were wounded or died on the job.
Lee is about Lee Miller, a one-time model, turned photographer, an American who spent a lot of time pre-World War II in France; travelling, developing her talents as a photographer, forging links with artists and French society. She is played by Kate Winslet, reminding us that for almost 30 years Kate has been a significant screen presence in film and television, and is multi-award-winning. As expected, this is a very strong and persuasive performance.
The film opens with some war action, Lee Miller, explosions, after the D-Day invasion. But, after showing her with her friends in France, the film moves to 1977, the older Lee Miller being interviewed by a young man, Josh O’Connor, about her war experiences, they’re examining a lot of the photos she took, leading to flashbacks, building up her experiences during the war years, and the device for returning to 1977 for some kind of break and, with some of the war experiences, some breathing space and relief for the audience.
Lee Miller went to London at the beginning of the war with artist Roland Penrose (Alexander Skarsgaatd). She offered her services to Vogue magazine, under the editorship of Audrey Withers (Andrea Riseborough). She was able to visit some camps, photograph service men and women, link up with David Scherman of Life Magazine (a surprisingly serious performance from comedian Andy Sandberg). The British would not employ her but, as an American, she worked with the American military, in action in San Malo, entering Paris when it was liberated, some harrowing sequences as she sought out her pre-war friends and discovered their occupation experiences, also discovering the disappearance of so many thousands, especially Jews.
The most harrowing part of the film is when she and David travel from France through Western Europe to the German border, an experience of Hitler’s hideout (and the serious/comic episode with Hitler’s bath), and, most tellingly, the concentration camps, the trains with corpses, the prisoners in their pyjama-striped uniforms. Lee continually photographing, and especially the sadness, the pathos of the faces of the women and children who suffered.
There is an explanation of the interview sequences at the end, information about Lee Miller, the re-discovery of her photos in the 1970s, book, photo publication – and, as usual now in such films, many of the actual photos shown during the final credits along with the episodes from the film.
Important for memories of World War II. Important for the 21st-century, the number of wars, the war correspondents, their courage, sharing the up-close details of their experiences, dangers, deaths.
Lee is currently showing in local cinemas.
Published: 25 October 2024
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