The movie starts off very symbolically with what it is. Plagiarism. A bit of Gallipoli, a bit of paths of glory, a bit of saving private Ryan. In it's parallel with Brexit, is it trying to show that also Brexit is not original at all? We soon learn that two boys are trapped in a place away from home. They don't want to be there. They long for the English pastures. Instead they are in hell. They had hoped for their leadership to get it done by Christmas so they can finally return. Then good old English humor takes over, instead of sending some planes over with letters to the troops that are being drawn into a trap to warn them with, the army sends over those two boys through the German lines. Black adder goes forth again. It becomes more serious again by showing not a single German can be trusted. They use all kind of trickery and evilness to liquidate those very decent boys. Even if those boys do every effort, time and again, at the cost of their own well-being, to save those wicked Germans. It's David Cameron going to he EU again with a "fair offer" for a better deal, only to be stabbed. So now the English have no choice than to go for it alone. In the destroyed orchards there isn't even any chance for cherry picking. And the Germans are ready to meet the UK's reasonable demand with a scorched earth policy. It does show that they are not totally on their own. A couple of token "commonwealth" soldiers are thrown in to prove that. Yes, those foreigners can even be useful to help the truck free itself from the mud. After some fireworks and some highly entertaining running through ruins while being shot at, another type of continental show up. A weak French woman. While the folksy British boy soldier knows quite a lot of French words to communicate, the rat-like French woman can help complete the conversation by replying with English words. But it shows a weak France ready to be violated again by the Germans any moment. And alas, our English hero can't stay and protect her this time. Obviously the brother of his friend is more important. Because who cares about a couple of thousand soldiers in WWI? The film shows that constantly that every part of the land is strewn by dead bodies, including French civilians who can only become victims. Next, the hero is sent on an reenactment of The Revenant's river escape. He's not a simple boy anymore. But a survivor. To prepare for the very touching ending, with a stiff upper lip, while still longing for the return to the wonderful island, some more comedy with the hero playing rugby with the first wave attack. It has to be said that the ending is very touching. I almost shed a tear for the loss of the British (boy). The film is technically well made. Eventually the conclusion is clear. There were only good reasons to withdraw and go go home.

Then again, maybe the filmmaker meant something entirely different. Maybe he was just trying to make money on the sentiment that war sucks. Or maybe the message was that milk is actually far better than some people think?