The Great Escaper

Part of Storyhouse Elders

Directed by Oliver Parker
Starring Michael Caine, Glenda Jackson, John Standing, Will Fletcher, Laura Marcus

In the summer of 2014 – the 70th Anniversary of the D-Day Landings – octogenarian Bernie Jordan made global headlines. He’d staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world – Bernie seemed to embody the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing. But of course, it wasn’t the whole story.

It was the story we all tell ourselves to make war and old age bearable. The bitter-sweet script explores the reality with wit and a very big heart. Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene – the story celebrates their love without sentimentality and with an eye to the lessons we can all learn from the Greatest Generation.