In World War II London, nine-year-old George is evacuated to the countryside by his mother, Rita, to escape the bombings. Defiant and determined to return to his family, George embarks on an epic, perilous journey back home as Rita searches for him.
We see a civilian population that is pushed to its absolute limits due to the destructive circumstances of the Blitzkrieg; there is no trace of heroism. The working class, while strictly involved in producing weapons, munitions and reproducing a defensive war effort only experience the nation state in its repressive form, if at all. The bourgeoisie meanwhile, throwing uninhibited parties at night, is exposed as a collaborator of the state in squeezing out every bit of effort from its citizens for the war during the day. The nation state reveals itself as the antagonist of the common citizen. The radical nature of this idea is made clear by the fact that the film is set in World War II, the war in which the imperial campaign of destruction in its most extreme form was carried out so unquestionably unilaterally. Even here, from the perspective of a defending country, the idea of the nation state as an identity-forming and unifying authority is done away with. A brave and important though
