PRIVATE POTTER


UK, 1962, 89 minutes, Black and white.
Tom Courtenay, Morgans Wieth, Ronald Fraser, Frank Finlay.
Directed by Caspar Wrede.

Private Potter is a different kind of military film. It was written and directed by Caspar Wrede, a Finnish director who worked in British television and who made the films One Day In the Life of Ivan Denisovich and the thriller, The Terrorists (1975), with Sean Connery.

The film stars Tom Courtenay at the beginning of his film career. At this time he made such films as The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner and Billy Liar. He was to appear in the seventies as Ivan Denisovich. The film shows a British military crisis. Presumably in Cyprus after the war on a terrorist mission, Private Potter screams and it appears he has had an experience of God. The theme is very interesting and in many ways well explored - especially in Potter's discussions with the Padre, the military psychiatrist and his commanding officer. Courtney establishes Potter as quite a credible character and there is much good dialogue on the exploration of the theme of the experience of God. The film is open-ended and leaves the viewer wondering where it was to lead. The film did not receive wide publicity and has not been screened very often. This is a pity since it is of some interest.

1. Was the film a religious film? Its human, psychological and religious issues and impact?

2. Cinema style: black and white photography, military style, the influence of television with close-ups, cross-cutting for interviews, editing techniques especially during the Seleskyeu interrogation of Tannin and Potter?

3. How credible was this story of Private Potter? Did he have a genuine religious experience? Could his experience be explained psychologically or not?

4. How well did the film present the situation of the British Army and terrorists? The credit sequence, the initial presentation of Potter and the soldiers? The peace keeping role of the British? Terrorist activity? The mission and the confrontation with Yanain and his escape and wounding?

5. The presentation of British military organization? the aphasia on doing things by the book, on conformism especially the views presented by the Brigadier? The attitude of the Doctor? Gunyon as between these two men and their attitudes?

6. The initial presentation of Potter amongst tho others? An ordinary private? The Army context for his ordinary experience, the religious experience?

7. The conduct of the mission, the need for silence? the Brigadier’s orders? The build-up to the focus on Potter, the visual and listening to the scream? Its effect on him, on the mission?

8. The military repercussions of Potter's scream? Imprisonment, interrogation. court martial preparations? Religious interviews, psychological tests? Fear of death, punishment? Military interpretation of the experience and the handling of discipline?

9. How well did the film present the varying attitudes of Gunyon, Knowles, the Chaplain, the Psychiatrist, the Brigadier? Could the audience gauge its own opinion from listening to these various experience or God: his explanation of his family background and upbringing, his image of himself at school, his not participating in sport and in team work, his becoming a weakly kind of boy and looked down on? His study and reading? His experience of God and his fear of him? The interpretation of his person as a soul in torment? The overall atmosphere of fear in his life and his explanation of this? The build-up to the sudden eruption of God and his presence in his life? The difficulty of finding words to describe it? Its being partly vision and not vision? Its being akin to mystical experience? The effect that it had on Potter and the peace and change of attitude in his whole approach to life? The Chaplain and his believing this eventually and supporting him? Gunyon moved by the credibility of Potter's account of himself? The repercussions of fear, the hysteria about prison? The effect of the interview with the Psychiatrist and disturbing his experience of God by rationalizing it? Its needing to be cured and treated? The transfer and the attempt to escape? The exhilaration of the run, the experience of the dawn, the ways? The fact that the vision was to become a private vision, an experience of God nothing to do with anybody else and his decision as to how he would plead and behave in the court martial? The fact that the experience of God for him to give him peace no matter what the system asked and demanded of him?

11. How well did the film present and explore the nature of religious experience and its possibility?

12. How crucial was the role of the Chaplain? The ordinary interview because of his duty, his focus on Christ and the Church aspects of vision? Potter's violent reaction and spitting? His apology and the bond that grew between the two? The Chaplain's listening and trying to fathom the experience, his veneration of Potter, his intercession with Gunyon and offer to intercede with the Brigadier? His continued help and the reaction of the various military personnel to the Chaplain and religious experience?

13. How crucial was Gunyon in his response to Potter? his military background, his organization of his men? His orderliness. his caring and compassion for each of his men - as explained by the Doctor? His being irritable, wanting Knowles and others to accept the responsibility? The decisions that he made especially on the advice of the Doctor to call in the Psychiatrist? His growing belief in Potter's truth? The importance of his interceding with the Brigadier? His response to Potter's escape attempt? Their final talk and his acceptance of Potter's point of view?

14. The presentation of the Doctor in his dealings with Tannin and his healing illnesses and wounds? His sceptical approach and offhand attitude? His support of Gunyon yet persuading him of medical evidence? Their discussions about atheism and belief in God? The Doctor's attempt to psychologise the experience?

15. The importance of the Psychiatrist and the way the interrogation was filmed - as an interrogation with the Psychiatrist off screen? How effective was the paralleling of the questioning with the officer questioning Tannin? Double victimization? The repercussions on Potter of the Psychiatrist's point of view?

16. The Brigadier and the comfort of his headquarters, his emphasis on everything going smoothly, examples and conformity?

17. The effect of the ending and Potter's future? The presenting of the two standards of God erupting into a person's life, the conformism of military order? How would Potter cope?