Blitz

Rated PG-13 • Apple TV+

Written and directed by Steve McQueen (12 Years a Slave, 2013), Blitz tells the story of a mother and son during Germany’s bombing of London amid WWII in 1940. Single mother Rita (Saoirse Ronan) sends her son George (Elliott Heffernan) to safety in the countryside. But during the evacuation, George jumps off the train, defying Rita’s intentions to protect him. As war descends on England, George searches to find his way back to her.

George’s journey is complicated by more than the perils of war. He is biracial, and his appearance draws taunts from other children.

A subplot involves Rita’s job at a munitions factory (think Rosie the Riveter) where workers plead with authorities to open the Underground tunnels for shelter during the bombing. The movie also touches on a socialist movement, gesturing at the period’s swirl of political forces.

A standout character is Ife (Benjamin Clémentine), an air raid warden who serves as young George’s guardian angel and who guides him by the hand as he makes his nightly rounds. While the sky falls, Ife remains a courageous and gentle figure.

The setting is vivid and the story’s arc is dramatic, but the characters themselves lack color and energy. Throughout the story, George’s motives remain unclear. I wasn’t sure why he was angry with his mother, given the visions of a positive home life we see. The movie starts too slowly, lost in its own warmth, but gains steam in the second half.

Even so, this is a heartwarming story about family ties and the bond of surviving war. One character reminds runaway George, “Go back to your mother. She’ll forgive you—mothers always do.”