Storming Juno

I am embarrassed to admit that it has taken me until this year to have a true appreciation for Remembrance Day. I feel slightly better about the situation knowing that my whole family does as well, after attending the premiere of Storming Juno. It tells the story of our incredibly brave Canadian Allied forces who stormed Juno Beach at Normandy on D-Day and helped defeat the Germans.
We took our kids (two boys, 11 and 13) to see it and I was interested to hear their reactions, post-movie. So instead of telling you about the movie myself, I thought I would give you the goods in their very profound ‘tween’ words.

1. What was the movie about? It was about the Canadians storming Juno Beach in France and it was taken from the perspective of three people who all had different jobs in the army. All three survived and all of them did something very important to help their team win.
2. What did you learn from the movie? I learned what D-Day was. I learned that the Canadian army was a big factor in winning WWII, which I was surprised about.
   I learned where the war took place—didn’t know it happened in France (ed note: still more to learn).
3. What will you think about now during your two minutes of silence? I’m going to think about the soldiers who died because war is such a terrible thing and it should never happen.

It’s not just the kids who need to remember, though. I’m going to think about my freedom and be grateful for the men and women who fought for it—that freedom that allows us to make choices in our lives everyday that we take for granted. Most of all, I’m going to be grateful for my family and I’m going to make a promise to myself to remember that more often. I’ll also remember the soldiers who never had their own families.

Good to Know: Many of the scenes are rather violent and graphic (think Saving Private Ryan) so be selective about whom you watch the film with. I wouldn’t recommend it for anyone under eight.