The Imitation Game (2014)

The Imitation Game (2014)

Director: Morten Tyldum
Writers: Andrew Hodges (book), Graham Moore (screenplay)
Genre: Drama, Biography, Thriller, War
Country: UK
Language: English, German
Duration: 114 min
Year: 2014
Also Known As: Igra kodova

Official site: http://theimitationgamemovie.com/

Stars: Benedict Cumberbatch, Keira Knightley, Matthew Goode, Rory   Kinnear, Allen Leech, Matthew Beard, Charles Dance, Mark Strong

 

The Imitation Game ( Igra kodova) je dirljiva biografska priča o Alanu Turingu, jednom od najvećih umova 20. vijeka, čovjeku koji je spasio milione ljudskih života u II svjetskom ratu tako što dešifrovao njemačke komunikacije kriptovane uz pomoć skoro neprobojne mašine za kodiranje pod tajnim nazivom "ENIGMA".
Britanci su kao i mnoge druge zemlje pritisnute Hitlerovom razarujećom ratnom mašinerijom pokušavali dešifrovati njemačke vojne poruke kako bi stekli prednost u ratu. Bilo je potrebno naći način da se na vrijeme saznaju svi Njemački ratni planovi, ali Enigmu nisu mogli razbiti sve dok se nije pojavio matematičar Alan Touring koji je svojom genijalnošću uspio napraviti mašinu koja je provaljivala njemačke kodove.
Alan Touring je svoju strast prema rješavanju matematičkih problema stavio ispred sopstvene seksualnosti koja je uz to bila kažnjiva prema Britanskim zakonima.

Nakon završetka rata Britanska vlada je odlučila zadržati sve u tajnosti i uništila je svaki trag o postojanju Turingove mašine koja je razbila Njemačku "Enigmu", čime je onemogućeno da se njenom genijalnom tvorcu oda zasluženo istorijsko priznanje.
Priča je izašla u javnosti kada je Alan Touring 1952. godine uhapšen zbog homoseksualnosti i osuđen na hemijsku kastraciju, koja je na kraju dovela do samoubistva ovog genijalnog matematičara i heroja u jednom od najrazornijih ratova evropskog kontinenta.
Alan Touring ni nakon smrti nije doživio javnu rehabilitaciju i počast barem na nivou nacionalnog junaka, ako već ne na nivou mislioca koji je zadužio čovječanstvo. Homofobija britanskog društva tog doba ga je otrgnula od stvaralaštva i gurnula u beskrajnu tišinu, koja je prekinuta tek 2009. godine. Tadašnji britanski premijer Gordon Brown službeno se javno izvinuo za sve užasne nepravde učinjene Alanu Turingu.
Alan Touring bi zauvjek ostao pominjan samo u naučnim krugovima kao začetnik modernog računarstva i digitalne tehnologije bez koje bi danas skoro nemoguće bilo zamisliti napredak ljudske civilizacije, bez ikakvog priznanja za svoj rad koji je spasio milione života da sticajem okolnosti nije postao žrtva jednog od najokrutnijeg anti gay zakona iz 1885. godine po kojem je bilo moguće kazniti čovjeka samo zato što je homoseksualac. Po tom zakonu je stradalo 49000 ljudi u Velikoj Britaniji. Biti gej u to doba značilo je biti kažnjavanjan zatvorom, javnim sramoćenjem, oduzimanjem svih ljudskih i građanskih prava ili prisiljavanjem na hemijsku kastraciju.
Zakon je ukinut 1963. godine ali do današnjeg dana nije ukinita presuda Alanu Turinu za zločin protiv javnog morala.
Alan Turing je zato postao upisan u istorijske knjige kao primjer zašto je potrebna borba za ljudska prava.

U mnogim državama pa i ovim našim balkanskim homofobija društva tjera homoseksualce na ćutnju. Iako smo svjesni da su oko nas mnogi važnji ljudi, doktori, umjetnici, naučnici, političari ili naprosto naše prve komšije i prijatelji homoseksualci društvena homofobija je u stanju da ih zauvjek ušutka i obespravi na svaki pomen o seksualnoj orjentaciji.

Upoznao sam čovjeka kojeg je strah od odbacivanja i sramoćenja natjerao da odustane od životne karijere i povuče se u svoj skriveni svjet. Pričao mi je kako je na poslovne sastanke išao sa strahom da će ako mu se otkrije da je gej doživjeti porugu, odbacivanje i psihičku torturu. Iako je bio uspješan u poslu i poštovan kao čovjek, sopstveni strah ga je natjerao da se povuče.
Razlog za taj strah, koliko god mnogima zvučao bezrazložno, leži u sudbini Alana Turinga, ali i sudbini mnogih ljudi koji su zbog svoje seksualnosti doživjeli slično poniženje.
Zato bi svako društvo u svojim školskim knjigama trebalo da ima upisano njegovo ime kao opomenu koliko je lako osuditi nekoga samo zato što je drugačiji iako vrlo često biti drugačiji znači biti sposoban vidjeti svjet oko nas na poseban način i time omogućiti mnoga mala i velika djela ljudske civilizacije.

From Huffingtonpost By Geoffrey R. Stone

The other day I had the privilege of attending an advance screening of the forthcoming movie The Imitation Game, starring Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. I am not a movie reviewer, so I will not offer an evaluation of the movie -- other than to say that it is superb.

What particularly interests me is the story itself and the extraordinary range of deeply important issues it poses. The Imitation Game traces the real-life tale of Alan Turing, the brilliant and highly idiosyncratic British scientist and philosopher whose secret contributions during World War II saved the lives of an estimated 14 million individuals by enabling the Allies to win the war much sooner than would otherwise have been possible.

Still in his twenties, Turing led a small cohort of odd-ball cryptographers in a top secret effort to discover the secret of the Nazis' Enigma machine. It was through the use of this machine that the Nazis were able to send encrypted messages to their forces throughout the world. It was, at the time, the most effective and unbreakable code ever invented.

Operating out of Hut 8 in Bletchley Park, Turing's genius and persistence enabled him to invent what was essentially the world's first computer, which finally broke the secrets of the Enigma machine. Although other Allied nations were trying with dogged determination to achieve this outcome, only Turing succeeded.

But that was only the beginning. Even after breaking the Nazi code, the question arose of what to do with this secret knowledge. The goal was not just to break the code, but to use the information gained in order to thwart the Nazi war effort. This had to be done carefully and selectively, because if the Nazis realized that the English had penetrated their code they would simply stop using the Enigma machine.

Thus, to use their knowledge to best effect, the English had to exercise restraint. They could use the decoded information only in carefully selected circumstances. Frequently, they would have to forego its use and permit the Nazis to succeed in battles in order to protect what was now their secret weapon. Turing and his crew played a central role in figuring out how to use the information without giving away their secret.

With end of the war, the British decided to keep secret the fact that they had broken the Nazi code. This was strategic. Other nations, thinking that the Enigma machine was unbreakable, used it themselves for decades after World War II, without realizing that the British could decode their messages. Turning's extraordinary achievement therefore remained locked away in the national security closet in order to leave the British with this advantage.

Alan Turing was in the closet in another way, as well. He was a homosexual. A few years after World War II ended, he was arrested for gross indecency -- otherwise known as homosexual conduct. Although perhaps the greatest hero of World War II, Turing could not reveal the secret of his contribution. He was convicted and, rather than spend two years in prison, accepted the penalty chemical castration, a common punish for homosexuals under British law. The belief at the time was that homosexuality was a mental illness that could be "treated" in this manner.

Suffering from the ill effects of this barbarous medication, Alan Turing committed suicide in 1952, with his contributions to Western civilization still unknown. It remained so for almost half-a-century. In 2009, British Prime Minister Gordon Brown finally issued a public apology for the "appalling" treatment of the man who, according to Winston Churchill, had made "the single biggest contribution to Allied victory in the war against Nazi Germany."

This is a deeply moving and powerful story. The Imitation Game , which opens in theaters in December, is a stunning movie.