Five young New Yorkers throw their friend a going-away party the night that a monster the size of a skyscraper descends upon the city. Told from the point of view of their video camera, the film is a document of their attempt to survive the most surreal, horrifying event of their lives.

In the middle of World War II, in turbulent 1942, the fearless Wing Commander, Max Vatan, lands on the desert dunes of Morocco to meet with the skillful Parisian member of the French Resistance, Marianne Beauséjour. After a suicide mission in the heart of Casablanca, Max and Marianne will flee to England with plans on making a family; however, heavy clouds of distrust and suspicion will burden their relationship, when Max receives a shocking call from the Secret Service Division. In disbelief, with a terrible task in his hands and crushed under a devastating dilemma, Max must find the courage to seek answers in the perilous streets of a bombarded London, regardless of the outcome. In the end, amid duty and love, who shall live and who shall die A very good script, with some great plot turns, and superior acting from both Marion Cotillard and Brad Pitt in complex, challenging roles. My favorite bit: when they make love in a car in the Moroccan desert with a sandstorm going on all around them. It is a good metaphor for their love story in the midst of the great chaos of World War II. And it has a realistic feel, for the most part–for the sets in Casablanca (some good homage to the Bogart film, I would say also some Brando homage in parts of Pitt’s performance), and the time back in the UK (second favorite bit is during a party in London). One does get the sense of the all-out effort demanded to win the war, something we do well to commemorate in these days when the last veterans of that most epic event in history are at death’s door.