Flight Into Darkness: Moody Aviators and Forgotten Wives

Is it worth your time?

If you like old French dramas where everyone is miserable in very polite ways, you might dig this. If you need a movie to move faster than a glacier in winter, stay away. It’s definitely for people who prefer watching people stare at each other over intense dialogue scenes rather than actual plot progression.

Charles Vanel is the guy you love to hate here. He plays this aviator who is basically a walking ego trip. He’s reckless, he’s rude, and he’s constantly alienating his squad mates. Watching him treat his wife, played by Annabella, like a piece of furniture in their living room is genuinely frustrating. You keep waiting for him to snap out of it, but he just gets grumpier.

There is this one scene in the hangar—I think it’s near the middle—where the lighting is just so gloomy. Everyone looks like they’ve aged ten years in ten minutes. It’s not subtle, but it works. The whole airfield has this dusty, claustrophobic vibe that makes you want to step outside for a breath of air.

The younger pilot character is so obviously the better choice for the wife, it’s almost funny. It’s like the movie isn't even trying to hide the outcome. He looks at her with these big, puppy-dog eyes that feel a bit too much sometimes. It’s not quite as wild as the drama in Other Men's Daughters, but it has its own kind of heavy atmosphere.

Vanel really leans into the 'misunderstood hero' act. Maybe too much. Every time he does a stunt in the air, the camera stays on the ground with the rest of the cast. We’re just watching people look at the sky, waiting to see if he crashes. It’s an odd choice, but it keeps the focus on the people on the ground instead of the planes.

Some quick thoughts:

• The uniforms are scratchy looking. You can almost feel the wool through the screen.
• The dialogue is very stage-y. Sometimes it feels like they’re shouting across a theater instead of talking to each other in a room.
• Annabella has this way of looking down at the floor that says everything without her saying a word.
• That one guy in the background of the mess hall scene seems to be eating the same piece of bread for the entire sequence.

It’s a bit of a slog, honestly. But there’s something about the way it just refuses to give you the satisfaction of a happy, clean resolution that keeps you watching. It doesn't have the snap of Looking for Trouble, but it's a solid, moody piece of work if you’re in the right headspace. ✈️