Desperate Journey's Dominic Allburn admits it's 'scary' as he exposes parallels with WWII thriller to modern-day

Stranded in occupied Paris, Mr Knoller finds work in a burlesque club frequented by Nazi officers.

The film traces his fight for survival as he navigates danger, betrayal and the looming threat of the concentration camps.

Mr Allburn appears as one of the film’s main antagonists, portraying a Nazi officer hunting down Jews.

Speaking to GB News and other media at the premiere, the actor said it was "quite scary to realise just how close it was to what's going on in the world today".

He explained that preparing for the role forced him to examine parallels between past and present.

"You know, it's funny because I really… I know that time period pretty well… I've studied it a lot and, I mean, we all do, hopefully.

"But (what) really struck me this time around, looking at it through the perspective of what's going on today in the world, was just how immediate it is for this day and age, that, you know, the mistakes of the past that led to the exact same things going on today.

"So it's so present, even though 1940 feels like far away," he continued.

Mr Allburn told GB News that he hopes audiences walk away with a sense of responsibility.

"It's not really about teaching them or pushing them to think in a certain way, but at least realising that every single person can make a difference.

"And being passive, choosing to not take action is as bad sometimes as the evil forces on the other side. So it's really about believing that everyone can make a difference."

Asked to describe the film in three words, he said: "It’s a movie about hope… about love… and courage."

The actor’s comparison between wartime atrocities and present-day events was a recurring theme among the cast.

The film's composer, Ilan Eshkeri, told GB News that the rise in global tensions makes the film’s message especially important.

"Well, I do think it's an important story to tell. I think, you know, I think given everything that's going on in the world, I think it's good for us to look at what happened in World War II and to understand that."

Anna Mawn, who plays Aiva, echoed the sentiment: "World War II was less than 100 years ago, and we have very short memories, and I think that we're living in a world and in a time where there are still people who are living in fear and are displaced from their homes.

"So I think this brings a very human story to that, and I think stories like this really serve as a reminder of what can happen when extreme rhetoric goes unchecked."

Lead actor Lucas Lynggaard Tønnesen, who plays Freddie Knoller, urged audiences to treat the film as a warning.

"I hope you will help us to share this story and tell your friends and your family to come watch this story because this is a good reminder for the world to, yeah, to know that we've done this before, and let's not keep doing it," he said.

Director Annabel Jankel said the story’s relevance today is impossible to ignore.

"The past is actually as important as the present. And I think that it's important right now, for this moment in time.

"I think it's really important that all these stories — or many of these stories — have been forgotten stories, stories that are coming to light. More and more important because the world has become more and more divided.

"The rise of the right, the divisiveness, the racism, the anti-Semitism. And I think that for young people especially, it is a good opportunity to expose them to a story of a young person and what they had to go through — and ultimately how they survived."

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