The Great Escaper

Bealtaine Festival

Wed 8 May 2024
7.30pm

FREE

Book tickets

In the summer of 2014, Bernard Jordan (Michael Caine) made global headlines.
He had staged a “great escape” from his care home to join fellow war veterans on a beach in Normandy, commemorating their fallen comrades at the D-Day Landings 70th anniversary. It was a story that captured the imagination of the world as Bernie embodied the defiant, “can-do” spirit of a generation that was fast disappearing.

But of course, it wasn’t the whole story.It was an inspirational but sanitised retelling of one man’s need to come to terms with the lasting trauma of war. Bernie’s adventure, spanning a mere 48 hours, also marked the culmination of his 60-year marriage to Rene (Glenda Jackson) – THE GREAT ESCAPER celebrates their enduring love but always with an eye to the lessons we might learn from the Greatest Generation.

Dir: Oliver Parker UK 2023 96 mins Cert: 12A
Language: English
Starring: Glenda Jackson, Michael Caine, John Standing

Thanks GFD Communications for supporting the screenings of The Great Escaper.

The screenings are also possible because of the support of The Arts Council of Ireland.