The Small Back Room (a.k.a. Hour of Glory)

Turning from the bewitching red spectacle to the claustrophobic black-and-white noir, the duo retreated into the emotional trauma of a handicapped bomb-disposal expert. Struggling with alcoholism, depression, and a complex relationship with his girlfriend, he is forced to confront his haunted past when a dangerous mission arrives. Dramatic high-contrast lighting and deep-focus photography fixate upon his dysfunctional world – climaxing in an expressionist nightmarish scene where he grimly resists the looming presence of a giant whisky bottle. Shadowing a backlash against wartime politics is a nuanced character study mixed with suspense and romance, evoking Fritz Lang’s dark vision of human loneliness and redemption.