Justin Chang

It's here that the profundity of McQueen's vision comes into focus. He may be working in a more classical mode than he did in historical dramas like Hunger and Twelve Years a Slave... but there's something quietly radical about his perspective. He's showing us an England that was more racially diverse and more racially divided than most movies of the period ever acknowledged.

At times, Blitz plays like a prequel to McQueen's 2020 anthology series, Small Axe, a vibrant portrait of the West Indian community of London where he grew up. It also has some overlap with Occupied City, his 2023 documentary about Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, a very different film about a city under siege. Race isn't the only thing on McQueen's mind.

At times, Blitz plays like a prequel to McQueen's 2020 anthology series, Small Axe, a vibrant portrait of the West Indian community of London where he grew up. It also has some overlap with Occupied City, his 2023 documentary about Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, a very different film about a city under siege. Race isn't the only thing on McQueen's mind.

At times, Blitz plays like a prequel to McQueen's 2020 anthology series, Small Axe, a vibrant portrait of the West Indian community of London where he grew up. It also has some overlap with Occupied City, his 2023 documentary about Nazi-occupied Amsterdam, a very different film about a city under siege. Race isn't the only thing on McQueen's mind.

He also salutes the crucial role women played in the war effort, women like George's mom, Rita, who by day works in a munitions factory and by night volunteers in an underground shelter.

He also salutes the crucial role women played in the war effort, women like George's mom, Rita, who by day works in a munitions factory and by night volunteers in an underground shelter.

He also salutes the crucial role women played in the war effort, women like George's mom, Rita, who by day works in a munitions factory and by night volunteers in an underground shelter.

Once Rita learns that George is lost in London, Blitz becomes the heart-rending tale of a mother and child trying to find each other across a bombed-out landscape, a smoky ruin in Adam Stockhausen's brilliant production design. For all these stark and apocalyptic images, the London we see in Blitz also pulses with life.

Once Rita learns that George is lost in London, Blitz becomes the heart-rending tale of a mother and child trying to find each other across a bombed-out landscape, a smoky ruin in Adam Stockhausen's brilliant production design. For all these stark and apocalyptic images, the London we see in Blitz also pulses with life.

Once Rita learns that George is lost in London, Blitz becomes the heart-rending tale of a mother and child trying to find each other across a bombed-out landscape, a smoky ruin in Adam Stockhausen's brilliant production design. For all these stark and apocalyptic images, the London we see in Blitz also pulses with life.

The use of music throughout is inspired, and I don't just mean Hans Zimmer's brooding score. McQueen guides us into a dance hall, where black musicians perform for white partygoers, and through a busy pub where George's granddad tickles the ivories. One terrific scene unfolds on the factory floor, where Rita, a gifted singer, cheers up the crowd with a song.

The use of music throughout is inspired, and I don't just mean Hans Zimmer's brooding score. McQueen guides us into a dance hall, where black musicians perform for white partygoers, and through a busy pub where George's granddad tickles the ivories. One terrific scene unfolds on the factory floor, where Rita, a gifted singer, cheers up the crowd with a song.

The use of music throughout is inspired, and I don't just mean Hans Zimmer's brooding score. McQueen guides us into a dance hall, where black musicians perform for white partygoers, and through a busy pub where George's granddad tickles the ivories. One terrific scene unfolds on the factory floor, where Rita, a gifted singer, cheers up the crowd with a song.

an original tune, as it happens, co-written by McQueen and Nicholas Bertel. The music in these moments never feels like just a diversion. These are songs of defiance, and in them you can hear a nation's very will to survive.

an original tune, as it happens, co-written by McQueen and Nicholas Bertel. The music in these moments never feels like just a diversion. These are songs of defiance, and in them you can hear a nation's very will to survive.

an original tune, as it happens, co-written by McQueen and Nicholas Bertel. The music in these moments never feels like just a diversion. These are songs of defiance, and in them you can hear a nation's very will to survive.