Acting
David Thewlis in his breakout — all nervous energy and wounded pride.
Direction
Greengrass debut: handheld tension before Bourne made it famous.
Writing
Martin Allen's script refuses easy answers about heroism.
Director
Paul Greengrass
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Greengrass shot this for BBC on 16mm for roughly £800,000. It won the Berlinale Ecumenical Prize and vanished for decades.
Released when Falklands trauma was still raw tabloid fodder; the film's refusal to glorify conflict made it deeply unfashionable in 1989 Britain.
US
