''The Rocket Post'' is a 2004 British drama film directed by Stephen Whittaker and starring

Ulrich Thomsen Ulrich Thomsen (born 6 December 1963) is a Danish actor and filmmaker, known for his role of Kai Proctor in the Cinemax original series ''Banshee'' (2013-2016). Biography Ulrich Thomsen was born in (Næsby) Odense, Denmark and graduated from t ...

, Shauna Macdonald,

Kevin McKidd Kevin McKidd (born 9 August 1973) is a Scottish actor and television director. Before playing the role of Dr. Owen Hunt in '' Grey's Anatomy'', for which he is widely known, McKidd appeared as Tommy Mackenzie in Danny Boyle's '' Trainspotting' ...

and

Patrick Malahide Patrick Gerald Duggan (born 24 March 1945), known professionally as Patrick Malahide, is a veteran British film, television and theatre actor, author and producer, known, amongst other things, for his roles as Inspector Alleyn in '' The Inspec ...

. It is set on a remote Scottish island during the late 1930s. The arrival of German

rocket scientist Aerospace engineering is the primary field of engineering concerned with the development of aircraft and spacecraft. It has two major and overlapping branches: aeronautical engineering and astronautical engineering. Avionics engineering is s ...

Gerhard Zucker is not initially welcomed by the inhabitants of the island. The film was shot in 2001, but its release was delayed by several years. Additional footage was shot in 2005, and the film was given a limited release in

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a Anglo-Scottish border, border with England to the southeast ...

the following year. The story is very loosely based on experiments in 1934 by the German inventor Gerhard Zucker to provide a postal service to the island of Scarp by

rocket mail Rocket mail is the delivery of mail by rocket or missile. The rocket lands by deploying an internal parachute upon arrival. It has been attempted by various organizations in many different countries, with varying levels of success. It has nev ...

. Another fictionalised account of the experiment formed the basis of a 2001 film, also called ''The Rocket Post'', which was filmed on Taransay."The Rocket Post (2001)"
Film Hebrides. Retrieved 21 December 2008. The film's original score was composed by Nigel Clarke & Michael Csanyi-Wills and recorded by the Royal Philharmonic Orchestra in London.

Plot

Two German rocket scientists are unable to obtain funding for their experiments from the German Government. They travel to Scarp, an island in the Outer Hebrides of

. Their experiments initially end in disastrous failure. Over time one of the scientists, Heinz Dombrowsky is fed up with the primitive living conditions and returns to Germany where rocketry has obtained the interest of the

Third Reich Nazi Germany (lit. "National Socialist State"), ' (lit. "Nazi State") for short; also ' (lit. "National Socialist Germany") (officially known as the German Reich from 1933 until 1943, and the Greater German Reich from 1943 to 1945) was ...

. Things look up for the remaining scientist Gerhard Zucker when he falls in love with a local lass and a local handyman improves his rockets to successfully keep them from exploding. Germany desires Gerhard to return to Germany, sending a U-Boat to abduct him.

Cast

as Gerhard Zucker * Shauna Macdonald as Catriona Mackay * Gary Lewis as Jimmy Roach *

as Thomas McKinnon *

as Charles Ilford *

Eddie Marsan Edward Maurice Charles Marsan (born 9 June 1968) is an English actor. He won the London Film Critics Circle Award and the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actor for the film '' Happy-Go-Lucky'' (2008). He has feature ...

as Heinz Dombrowsky *

Clive Russell Clive Russell (born 7 December 1945) is a Scottish actor. He is known for his roles as Chief Inspector Frederick Abberline in ''Ripper Street'', Angus O'Connor in ''Happiness'' and Brynden Tully in the HBO series ''Game of Thrones''. He also a ...

as Angus MacKay * Jimmy Yuill as James MacLeod *

Ian McNeice Ian McNeice (born 2 October 1950) is an English film and television actor. He found fame portraying government agent Harcourt in the 1985 television series '' Edge of Darkness'', and went on to feature in popular films such as ''The Englishma ...

as Alex Miln * John Wood as Sir Wilson Ramsay * Niall Maclennan as James Maclennan * Alasdair Maclennan as Paul Maclennan *

Tim Barlow Michael John Leigh Barlow (born 18 January 1936), whose stage name is Tim Barlow or sometimes Timothy Barlow, is an English actor who has performed many small roles in a variety of films, television programmes and plays. Barlow left the army ...

as Hector McDougal * Iain MacRae as Islander 1 * Lewis Iain MacNeill as Islander 2

References

External links

Zucker Rocket
* *

2004 films British drama films Films directed by Stephen Whittaker 2000s English-language films 2000s British films {{2000s-UK-film-stub