Paul Magne Haakonsen Usually when you get to see those movies that are either directed and/or produced by people starring in the movie as well, you know it is going to be bad.However, I will say that "Forbidden Ground" managed to pull it off well enough. Sure, this isn't a war epic on Hollywood over-the-top scale. But the story was told in a nice enough way, and it was with characters that you got attached to and characters that actually had personalities and flaws.That being said, then it should also be noted that the entire movie basically takes place over a couple of hours in the movie time frame, as we follow a group of soldiers trying to storm and assault a German trench, but getting gunned down and having to make their way back to safe ground before the artillery starts raining death upon the Germans.Yes, the movie is entertaining, but it is nowhere near the scales such as "Saving Private Ryan" or "Band of Brothers", so don't expect this kind of storytelling or war movie.I found "Forbidden Ground" to progress at a nice pace, and the movie actually wasn't really dull. However, the side-story with the abortion and infidelity was a bit too forced, and the movie would have fared better without this aspect to the story."Forbidden Ground" is well worth a watch if you enjoy war movies, and haven't anything better within reach. It should at least be watched just once.

Sean William Wallace Morison Not perfect, but it's more accurate to what WW1 would have been compared to all of these Americanized "real" war movies, except for one part when the Private is running and is never hit...until he is blown up in the trench. I felt explosions and bullets were real, and I didn't see anyone getting their leg blown off and saying "It's a flesh wound!" Real war is being hit with one bullet, not like these other movies that have multiple bullet wounds and they walk away. The story of the wife, I felt could have been left out, even though it added irony and drama to the typical war theme, but I wanted it to be a war movie only. Also, there could have been more battle scenes perhaps. Dialogue was okay, although it seemed a tack calm for war, truth be told. There were a few cheesy lines.

brentfox274 I watched Forbidden Ground recently and can't recommend this film highly enough. It was emotive and gripping and had me on the edge of my seat the whole way through.My only gripe is that this film is marketed as a massive war action film, and while there are numerous battle scenes and action sequences, I would call this film a drama/thriller made in a war setting.If you're a military extremist who must have every technical detail 100% accurate in order to enjoy a film set in war, this might not be the film for you. I found the attention to detail was great, sure it has errors and faults, which war film doesn't? I'm no war historian but when you consider the budget for which this was made (reportedly like under half a million) my hat tips to the filmmakers regardless of any perceived military technical errors.The way their lives and connecting tales were interwoven was fantastic, and done in a way you rarely find in film these days. Performances were great and I was totally immersed in their world.I and my entire family loved this film. If you enjoy film and love watching films that move you, then I highly recommend Forbidden Ground.

mecheart Few films in comparison to the number of those examining other armed human conflicts have provided a look at the hopeless blood soaked, mud clogged trenches of the First World War and fewer still have lent voice to the courage, will and love for their fellow soldiers of the men who followed without question orders which amounted to voluntary mass suicide in a hell scorched land far from the blessed sight of their most beloved.Johan Earl and Adrian Powers have in 'Forbidden Ground' crafted the viewer such a window into one of the darkest periods of the 20th century. Their film movingly throws us into the trenches of the British Army and its portrayal of the raging machine of war as it grounds young terrified men into its only product - something much different than they were before, alive or dead. The film seizes the senses and raises tension from scene to scene.The plot forwards the stories of two British married couples; the men at war while the women walk trancelike, waiting through the motions of a special hell of their own for word that their spouses still live. The two story lines unfold against the backdrop of their individual struggles for survival and preservation of sanity which tragically become more difficult when their lives intersect. Surrounding them all is the War and distance, time and pain of absence.Sergeant Major Arthur Wilkins played by Johan Earl and Corporal Richard Jennings played by Martin Copping are men hardened and desensitized as they are ruined and broken by their years in the maw of combat. Both are fair, natural leaders who care for the men they command, but they've lost their identities, they've forgotten what their lives were like before the War began. Indeed, the surreal daily ballet of carnage their lives have become leaves them with weakening connection to the women they married and eventually sees them becoming brothers in arms trapped in a situation neither will ever completely escape.Grace Wilkins, wife of Arthur played by Denai Gracie and Eve Rose, fiancé or wife of Corporal Jennings are the ones their men left behind. Nightmares of Arthur's rejection of her upon his return plague Grace, and for aid with the condition she faces which could hurt her husband more even than the terrors of war, she feverishly seeks aid and finds its only source in Eve. Eve has suffered her man's absence as much as Grace, and in so genuinely needing to aid her causes irrevocable harm.The film is a war movie, and it is also a tragic drama which explores the consequences of meetings between average people who find themselves already connected in ways they never could have imagined. The historical accuracy of the period is spot on as are the booming, ground churning scenes of battle of which there are several. For the budget available, the film makers did a great job although the continuity and viewer perception of the size of outdoor spaces sometimes feel askew and not to scale.'Forbidden Ground' is a gritty, visceral war film wrapped around a touching story driven by characters with many shades of depth. Their reactions and solutions to the horrible situations they find themselves in is compelling and this viewer found himself only wishing they could get through it all and have the opportunity to heal, together - reunited at last.I highly recommend 'Forbidden Ground' to the fan of war films as World War I remains a blemish on history mostly glossed over by popular fiction. The period equipment, weapons and dress on the battlefield and off are well reproduced, and the actors who portray the interesting characters inhabiting this study of the chilling effects of war on its victims - war makes all of us its victims - are worthy of the viewers time and praise. For most every other mature moviegoer the film is also a worthwhile watch: the tragically intersecting fates of these characters will reach you on some level.8/10