Munich - some things never change: The Edge of War is Netflix posh-washing for an elite that’s still in charge today

With the country apoplectic at the entitled behaviour in Downing Street, does the world need the reputation of another Tory flop, Neville Chamberlain, redeemed? As Robert Harris’s historical thriller hits Netflix this week.

A naughty party on a lawn. Drunk posh people swanning about while oozing entitlement. Everyone acting like the normal rules don’t apply to them. Men urinating openly. Though the booze has run out, someone’s got a cheeky plan to obtain some more… No, this isn’t Downing Street during the pandemic, this is the opening scene of Munich: The Edge of War – an intriguingly pointless film adapted from the book of the same name by historical fiction colossus Robert Harris.

It would be churlish to damn a film for the unfortunate timing of its release, but as it drops on Netflix this week, it’s hard to take Munich seriously amid the howls of national indignation at the recent antics in No 10. For while the film is an attempt to repair the reputation of pre-war PM Neville Chamberlain (witness David Davis quoting what was said to a disgraced Chamberlain in 1940: “In the name of God, go”), it’s mainly a film about powerful yet inept people from privileged elites making a mess of things. I mean, tell me: what’s not to hate right now?

Harris’s promotion for the film has centred around this slightly renegade desire to redeem Chamberlain (prime minister 1937-1940), who at the Munich Conference of 1938 took Hitler at his word that he didn’t want to enter into war – only for Hitler to confound his policy of appeasement by being a bastard and not a gentleman. Every world leader ever since, including in recent years Cameron and Obama, is at some point said to be acting like Chamberlain. It’s become an accepted synonym for being weak, overly trusting or unable to grasp a situation. But where the world has been happy to designate Chamberlain as a totemic figure of embarrassing Tory failure, Harris regards Chamberlain’s failure as “noble… not squalid”.

Read more at: Munich: The Edge of War is Netflix posh-washing for an elite that’s still in charge today | The Independent

The Netherlands: ‘The Forgotten Battle’: An Immersive New Dutch Movie On WWII On Netflix - by Sheena Scott

The Forgotten Battle (De Slag Om De Schelde), Netflix’s NFLX -0.9% first Dutch film, has jumped to the streamer’s Top 10 list in many countries, including Canada, the Netherlands, Belgium, the United Kingdom, the U.S., and France, one day after its release on October 15. The war film won five awards for Editing, Cinematography, Production Design, Costume Design and Sound Design at the Nederlands Film Festival awards ceremony earlier this month.

The Forgotten Battle opens in September 1944, on the island of Walcheren in Zeeland, a southwestern province of the Netherlands that borders with Belgium. In the midst of the Second World War, three young lives, Netflix’s official synopsis tells us, find themselves inextricably connected.

The forgotten battle in question is the Battle of the Scheldt. Months after Allied troops landed on the beaches of Normandy (D-Day and the Battle of Normandy), the Allies are rapidly advancing west, defeating the Nazi troops. The Allies liberate the Belgian port of Antwerp—crucial in getting access to the North Sea and thus secure supply lines. In order to use the port though, the Allies needed to clear the region between Antwerp and the North Sea along the Scheldt River, which was occupied by Nazi troops. This task was given to the First Canadian Army, and is considered the largest operation in the Netherlands during the war.

Read more at: ‘The Forgotten Battle’: An Immersive New Dutch Movie On WWII On Netflix

Internet Multi-Nationals - Movie rental Netflix expands to France, Germany

will expand into Germany, France and four other European countries later this year as the internet video service tries to build an international following that might eventually surpass its U.S. audience.

The additional markets announced Wednesday will extend Netflix's reach into nearly 50 countries, including 13 in Europe. Besides Germany and France, the latest countries on Netflix's list are Switzerland, Austria, Belgium and Luxembourg. The Los Gatos, California, company entered Europe in 2012 when its Internet video service debuted in the U.K. and Ireland.

Earlier this year, Netflix Inc. disclosed its plans to sell its service in more European countries without identifying where they would be.

The company still isn't saying which month its service will be available in the new markets or how much it will cost. Netflix recently raised its internet streaming prices for new customers by about $1 US per month around the world. With the increase, Netflix charges $9 per month for unlimited video streaming in the U.S.

The company froze rates at $8 per month for two years for subscribers before the May 9 increase.

Netflix ended March with 35.7 million U.S. subscribers and an additional 12.7 million customers in the rest of the world.

The company has set a long-term goal of 60 million to 90 million U.S. subscribers and more than 100 million internationally.

Read more: Netflix expands to France, Germany - Technology & Science - CBC News