One of Our Aircraft Is Missing

Though not top-notch Powell & Pressburger, an ambitious low-key wartime thriller that totally transcends any propaganda considerations, thanks to sharp characterisation and imaginative scripting. The crew of a British bomber sent out on a mission to Europe (by air controller Powell, making a symbolically revealing guest appearance) are forced to bale out and make their way back overland through the Low Countries. No simple task, given that - as so often in Powell's movies - the enemy is not merely external but also internal: tensions mount among the Brits, while distrust abounds in their dealings with apparently sympathetic Dutchmen. Rather like 49th Parallel without the epic sweep, an impressively directed and beautifully performed piece of work.