Co-writers/co-directors Josh Berman, Trent McGee, and screenwriter Natalia Pleshivtseva current untold tales from World War II with their documentary Angels Of The Sky. Specifically, the filmmakers chronicle the eighth Air Force pilots who had been shot down and have become prisoners of conflict. If that feels like a spoiler, it actually isn’t, because the movie is way extra about their experiences after being grounded than their time in dogfights.
Robert Barney, George Emerson, Harry Selling, Walter Drake, and Ed Stapleton all felt moved to affix the army firstly of the United States of America’s involvement within the Second Great War. Each veteran discusses why they selected the Air Force and what it’s prefer to be flying. Then the peril begins. The risks of abandoning the aircraft are examined, as is how and why such a last-ditch transfer can be wanted.
Then Angels Of The Sky will get to the guts of the matter. Barney, Emerson, Selling, Drake, and Stapleton turn into P.O.Ws, which is probably scarier than going through off in opposition to an enemy pilot. These courageous males vividly recall the march to their camps, the circumstances they had been stored in, and the psychological toll of not realizing who was profitable the conflict.
“…the eighth Air Force pilots who had been shot down and turned prisoners of conflict.”
Berman and McGee current this all in a comparatively easy method. This is a speaking heads documentary, if there ever was one. The use of archival footage and photographs works to assist visualize what’s being stated, although visiting these historic websites, powerful although it may be to see, may have added some further dimension to the visuals.
With that being stated, Angels Of The Sky works on a basic stage. This is primarily due to the themes’ harrowing tales. It is heartbreaking to listen to the issues they went by and/or witnessed. That all these years later, Barney, Emerson, Selling, Drake, and Stapleton can recall all this with such specificity is outstanding. Each of them speaks poignantly about their trials and tribulations, that are certain to interrupt a number of hearts.
Angels Of The Sky is a fundamental documentary that tells an unbelievable true story. The topics are fascinating, and the narration by Sean Burgos provides gravitas. Overall, this movie is for viewers who love WWII or army historical past.
