Shattered City: The Halifax Explosion

Based on a true story, this compelling drama recounts the events of Dec. 6, 1917, when a French freighter packed with tons of TNT collided with a Belgian ship in Halifax Harbour and exploded, killing more than 2,000 people. Graham Greene and Pete Postlethwaite lead an outstanding cast in chronicling the remarkable effort to rebuild the Nova Scotia city, a community devastated by tragedy that found the strength and courage to rise from the ashes.

This film was made for TV and it shows. The history is interesting. Tha acting is ok, but the interwoven stories are all to predictable and in the traditional Hollywood style of, "Towering Infurno", "Eathquake", Attack of the whatever, and any number of disaster films that are filled with the "human tragedy" sequences of divorce, teen pregnancy, abortion, emancipation, socialism, teenage problems, human rights issues, and ani-war stuff, all of which are made acceptable by the coming together of a ravished community. The special effects are a bit obvious as scene after scene of expoded dishes, shattered windows and scattered papers are used to give the effect of the largest non-nuclear explosion in human history. The realities of such a devistating event are well portrayed, and the following hearings and court cases are interesting. I think that wether you like this film or are board with it will depend upon your level of critique. I would not watch it again. -->Kimball **

Netflix link to Shattered City: The Halifax Exposion