Many people seem to forget that Australian soldiers played a huge part in the outcome of World War 1 with them being involved in nearly all of the major battles. Beneath Hill 60 tells the story of one of the lesser known battles of the war but one in which the Australian soldiers were the key members in winning, and one that would ultimately change the course of the war.
The film tells the (mostly) true story of the battle for Hill 60 and focuses mostly on the life of Oliver Woodward who left his new found love to go and fight on the western front. Woodward joined the secret platoon of Australian tunnelers who were tasked to dig and defend tunnels deep underneath German lines. This leaking labyrinth was packed full of high explosives by the Australians in order to defeat the Germans and claim Hill 60, an important strategic point, as their own.
There is no doubting that an immense amount of research went into making this film, mainly due to the story being it being a hugely successful one for Australian soldiers. All of the sets and costumes look excellent and give a real authentic feel to the film. The effects are also excellent for the most part with realistic depictions of war despite the comparatively small budget. The story itself is also an interesting one but the problem with Beneath Hill 60 lies with the telling of the story. The script is just too muddled at times and it is never really explained exactly why they soldiers are so intent on capturing Hill 60. If the hill was such an important strategic point in the war then it should have been explained as such but instead we have to work it out for ourselves to due to the sheer lack of background information about the battle. Everything else is very good with strong performances throughout and well filmed war scenes; it’s just a shame at the lack of information surrounding the battle which would have elevated this film beyond being merely good.
7/10
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