Cinephile trend-spotters have had an easy time of it for the past few months: since Christmas, our big screens have been filled with curdling violence (Coen Bros), lakes of blood (Day Lewis) and vicious war (just about everyone). But meanwhile, in the way that balance is somehow restored, another trend has sneaked up on us: the New Schmaltz.

Sentimentality is, like the poor, always with us – especially so in wartime. And by the evidence of the main trend I’ve just described, wartime is where we perceive ourselves to be. New Schmaltz is suddenly all around, first heralded last autumn by the stage version of that ultimate heart-tugger made in the shadow of war, Brief Encounter. (I can’t help wondering whether Les Misérables – a story of violent revolution by extremists, after all – would have had such success if it opened now.)