Storming Juno

Everybody knows about Omaha Beach on D Day, the Sixth of June, 1944, because that was where the landings were truly blunted. But we don't hear much about the landings by the Canadians are Juno Beach, just down the road.

This lacks the lavish budget and dramatic screenplay of "Saving Private Ryan" but generally does a convincing job of showing true -- not fictional -- events on and behind the flat sands of Juno, though the film was shot on the shores of Lake Ontario.

Instead of staged combat, newsreel footage of the historical events is inserted -- effectively. And the incidents shown have the virtue of being reenactments of real events.

It's not a long film and it lacks the perspective of "The Longest Day." And it's usually confusing to hear narration by two participants -- a tank commander and a paratrooper -- using voices so similar that it's hard to distinguish them. "I did this," says one voice, and we see a tank commander shouting orders. And without notice, we hear what appears to be the same voice saying something similar and we're way behind the lines with a tiny group of infantrymen.

An earlier attempt was made to show some of the sacrifices of Canadians in "Dieppe" -- the story of a disaster -- but again was hobbled by a low budget, so that much of the story was confined to military leaders arguing over the planning.

It's not a bad film. It resembles a TV documentary using reenactors.

I was pleasantly impressed! It's not the greatest war epic of all time or anything but make no mistake, for the semi-educational historical war docu-drama genre, this is Spielberg Saving Private Ryan level stuff.

There are some cheesy moments and the budget shows at times with the graphics and lack of background actors. But I was still thoroughly impressed by the overall production value and was never taken out of it wherever it was obvious the budget maxed out. The film really succeeds at giving you enough little endearing backstory moments to care a bit about the characters and what's going on. The actors are not gonna win any Oscars but again, for this budget and this genre, they did their job and engaged me as a viewer. They should certainly all be proud of the end product.

I'm guessing it was made for TV so it's not overly graphic but it nonetheless did a great job at capturing the horrific intensity, fear and chaos of storming the beaches with some great explosions and countless troops getting mowed down by turrets with good effects. The camera work is solid and really goes a long way to make what was probably just a couple dozen actors look like a true war on the beachfront.

If you're a fan of this kind of stuff or interested in Canada's role in WWII, this is a no brainer. And if you even just happen to catch it, it's worth watching and probably one of the highest quality things you'll see from any genre made for just a few million dollars. Glad I found it =)

The story of the Canadian invasion of Normandy on a beach called Juno. The Canadians were under the command of the British. They were tasked, like everyone else, with certain objectives and given a timetable. And like everyone else, there was a great deal of chaos the night of June 5th and the morning of the 6th. For example, at 5:35 AM June 6th (sunrise will occur at 5:58 AM) 29 amphibious tanks are launched from the US 741st Infantry division, 6 km from Omaha beach. 27 will sink. There are a crew of 5 per tank. The Canadians will experience similar losses at Juno. Paratroopers will land far from the rally point the night prior to the invasion. They will be dispersed and need to find their own way and meet objectives such as taking out German 88s before the bulk of the invasion forces land.

At 6:15 AM, landing craft from Commonwealth forces head towards the beaches.

At 7:20 AM, the naval bombardements on Gold, Juno, and Sword end.

At 7:25 AM, obstacle clearing and demining tanks and vehicles land on Gold, Juno, and Sword.

At 7:45 AM The 3rd Canadian Infantry Division lands on Juno. They will take many casualties securing the beach.

Note: The timetables I provided are the correct ones. The ones in the film may not be as the sunlight on the actors does not jive with the time. If you can get past the hokey special effects this is a very watchable and accurate docudrama based on real events.

How can we express our thanks and recognition to those Canadian youngsters who gave their lives for us Europeans, and French in particular. I was only 3 years old in June 1944. I was with my parents one of the few lucky ones not really exposed to the harshness and monstrosity of the filthy German IIIrd Reich. We were the lucky ones to have escaped occupation of Egypt thanks to Monty and his army. What would have happened if El Alamein had not been his victory? The Egyptian government was pro German, few know that.

As someone wrote above, the USA have been up to now considered practically the only one who won the war. When you speak with US citizens and Republicans in particular they just look at you Frenchmen like small fry. They never mention that the Canadians were there, that Commandant Kieffer and his men represented the French on D-Day and many lost their lives. They forget that the French Resistants were also there and helped them prepare that day. They always think they know best and other should keep quiet.They always think they are the best of the best...

But here at last Canada has been remarkably presented and the movie sounds so true that all the parts which have been dramatized merge completely with the news reels. It is terribly moving and unless you have a stone instead of a heart you just can't keep from crying at different moments.

This movie is far more impressive and real than all the Hollywood's super productions of the Spielbergs and Co. It's a must see and I'm astounded that there are only five reviews. How unjust!

Canadian troops storm Juno Beach on D-Day. This is more History channel than a narrative movie. It probably has aspirations of being Band of Brothers. It seems to be more dedicated to historical accuracy and veteran service than an exciting thriller. It uses some historical footage. The production is limited and the style is old fashion. I really don't like the low energy narration. The acting is also limited and non of the characters stand out. It makes any narrative rather problematic. There are some war action that tries to replicate the actual action but they aren't the exciting thrilling type. This feels like a modern TV movie made by historians and TV filmmakers. There is value in this especially as a service of remembrance.