“Operation Mincemeat” Tells an Unbelievable True Story (Review)

Sometimes, truth is stranger than fiction. Every instance of a bizarre, real-life occurrence not widely known or discussed is fascinating to me, which is why I’m grateful for the film medium: it gives a chance for these stories to be told in an accessible way, no matter what time period the stories are from. Films are something that most everyone can get behind.

Image courtesy of Netflix

This time, director John Madden (Oscar-nominated for Shakespeare in Love) is proving he has the chops to make a bona fide war movie — if you don’t count Captain Corelli’s Mandolin — with Operation Mincemeat, one of those fantastically weird war maneuvers that, despite all odds, was successfully pulled off. The curtain rises in 1943, as the Allies are attempting to disguise their upcoming invasion of Sicily. A deception effort, involving the deceased tramp Glyndwr Michael, was devised, in which Michael would be outfitted as the fictitious Major William Martin (later known as “the man who never was”) of the Royal Marines. Michael’s body was furnished with false documents purporting that Greece and Sardinia were the Allies’ true invasion targets in an effort to lure German forces away from Sicily.

An Interview with “Operation Mincemeat” Director John Madden

I had the opportunity to speak with director Oscar-nominated director John Madden about his new film Operation Mincemeat, which depicts a deception effort to keep the plans for the Allied invasion of Sicily secret during the Second World War.

Image courtesy of Netflix

Madden is an English director best known for directing the Academy Award-winning Shakespeare in Love, as well as The Best Exotic Marigold Hotel and its sequel. He was a fascinating interview, and I loved hearing his insight about the film’s historical subjects and the streamlined, dynamic nature of the dramatization.