Enemy of the Heart

If there was an Oscar category for cinematic "bang for your buck", Enemy of the Heart would surely be in the running. Considering the microscopic budget, this film is nothing short of a minor miracle. The production quality overall is excellent and belies the modest means of the film, delivering a professional yet emotional and sobering portrayal of an unjustly neglected subplot of British World War 2 history.

The cinematography at times hypnotises the viewer into believing they are watching a seasoned professional film-maker rather than an unknown making her writing and directorial debut. The director consistently and skilfully deploys the full toolbox of shooting techniques to carefully unfold each scene with deft use of shadows, angles, timing and lighting as well as skillful drone shots in the action scenes.

There are some impressive individual acting performances and despite the brevity of the film, the script has some decent character development which allows the audience to better empathise with the plight of characters as their circumstances deteriorate. The soundtrack also evolves well to set the prevailing mood as the film progresses - cheerful, happy-go-lucky early on and somber/melancholy later. The film does a great job of shining a light on the tragic but largely untold story of the plight of Italian immigrants in the UK at the outbreak of WW2. It's not difficult to see why Enemy of the Heart has won so many awards and it is inevitable that the viewer will be left pondering what this director might achieve with a proper budget on subsequent projects.