Though "Mrs. Miniver" has been acclaimed with every imaginable superlative for the past four months, it will not be a disappointment to those few who have not yet seen it. For its greatness lies not in its bigness, but rather in its deep understanding and restraint. "Mrs. Miniver," without being ostentatious, without the traditional flag-waving and trumpet-blowing, manages to bring the war closer to home than any picture World War II has inspired.

This movie tells for the first time the story of the people who must fight at home. Rather than the bloody dogfights over the English Channel, there are scenes of once-carefree families huddled together in home-made shelters during the great bombing raids; scenes of the church still holding services after most of the building has been destroyed, and of the old woman who refuses to believe that war has come to her. The actors have received the praise they deserve, but the direction is perhaps even more striking--from the unique symbolism of the now-famous flower show to the smallest reaction of the youngest child.

But the finest thing about this picture is that its characters are profoundly real all the way through. The problems they had to meet and the issues they had to face are very much like the ones which now confront us.