The Land Girls

During World War II, few women heard the cry of battle or felt the anguish of watching friends cut down by enemy fire. Nevertheless, without an army of women workers to man factories, produce war machinery, cultivate the fields, and hold the homefront together, the war could never have been won. Set in the English countryside in 1941, The Land Girls follows the relationship of three young women, called to duty on the farm, and their struggle to find their identity and make sense of a world turned topsy turvy. Determined to do their part in the war effort, the three beautiful city girls, Stella (Catherine McCormick), Ag (Rachel Weisz), and Prue (Anna Friel) prove their worth on the farm, working long, hard, back-breaking hours plowing fields, milking cows and feeding livestock. Coming from different walks of life, the three girls learn to overcome their differences, bond in lasting friendship and share their feelings about love, sex and war. This beautifully filmed, often humorous, period piece shows that women, too, suffered deep, long-lasting battle scars. Highly recommended. (P. Kirk)