The Bombardment Parent Guide

Just because the war is grinding to its inevitable conclusion by March of 1945 doesn’t mean it’s over – especially not for the citizens of occupied Denmark. The Gestapo is dangerously close to dismantling the Danish Resistance, and the Resistance has been begging the RAF to undertake an extremely risky raid to destroy the Gestapo headquarters in Copenhagen – even though the Gestapo are using Resistance prisoners in the building as human shields.

Oblivious to the oncoming bombs, life goes on in Copenhagen. At the nearby Jeanne d’Arc Catholic school, nun Sister Teresa (Fanny Leander Bornedal) tries to keep things going while suffering a major crisis of faith. Her students include Henry (Bertram Bisgaard), a young man who has been completely mute since witnessing an air raid, and who has come to Copenhagen to stay with his cousin, Rigmor (Ester Birch Beck). For Frederick (Alex Hogh Andersen), things are more complicated. He’s been working for the Gestapo for years, but the writing is on the wall - when the war ends, collaborators like him will undoubtedly be killed. More to the point, he’s beginning to wonder if working for the Nazis was ever the right thing to do. And time is running out to make that decision because the RAF is on the way…

I always appreciate European war stories told from the perspective of occupied countries. Hollywood war movies tend to be morally simplistic: There’s us and there’s them. But the equation for people living under Nazi rule is so much more nuanced. Collaboration and resistance add a complex moral dimension that strips away the easy excuses of a black-and-white war film. Individuals are forced to make incredibly difficult decisions for themselves and their families, and those decisions can have drastic consequences.

As I’m sure parents will appreciate, these films are much less focused on the incessant violence we associate with war films. While The Bombardment certainly features violence, killing, and even torture, there’s no glory in it for anyone involved. There’s also remarkably little profanity, limited almost entirely to British airmen. That’s not to say this is a film suitable for elementary school-aged children, but teens might find this a compelling resource in learning about some of the more difficult aspects of the war.

Focusing on a smaller-scale but hugely tragic aspect of the war, The Bombardment is a heartbreaking reminder of the costs associated with conflict, should you still need one after reading the news these days. For those of you already overwhelmed, I’d recommend looking for entertainment elsewhere. But if you think you could handle a history lesson with some complexity, then I highly recommend this one.