Australian Penthouse

BENEATH HILL 60

Director: Jeremy Sims
Stars: Brendan Cowell, Steve Le Marquand, Harrison Gilbertson, Bella Heathcote, Jacqueline McKenzie
Paramount

DESPITE almost 92 years having passed since the last shot rang out, nothing can compare with the horror of The First World War (1914-18). But while the military decisions behind the conflict undoubtedly resulted in often senseless waste of life, it also gave rise to unprecedented technological innovation and ingenuity, with many Australians  at the vanguard.

Based on true events, Beneath Hill 60 tells the fascinating and harrowing story of Captain Oliver Woodward and the 1st Australian Tunnelling Company, who were brought in by the British to take over mining operations during the brutal Battle of Hill 60 on the Western Front in November 1916. Much of the fighting occurred underground, with both the Allies and Germans tunnelling below no-man’s land to try and gain an advantage.

The film switches between Woodward’s (Cowell) idyllic pre-war life in Queensland, where he falls in love with the beautiful Marjorie (Heathcote), and the blood-soaked battlefields of Belgium, where he must win over his troop of jaded miners and use his technical brilliance to help the Allies detonate 21 massive mines hidden directly under the enemy trenches.

Brendan Cowell delivers an exceptional performance as Captain Woodward, and he’s ably supported by the rest of the non-star cast. On top of that, the sets are fantastic and the excellent cinematography accurately conveys the claustrophobic and extreme conditions under which the Aussie tunnellers had to work.

Educational, entertaining and engaging, Beneath Hill 60 is easily one of the best Australian films of the past decade. Don’t miss it.

Beneath Hill 60 is in cinemas from April 15.