During the winter of 1952, British authorities entered the home of mathematician, cryptanalyst and war hero Alan Turing to investigate a reported burglary.

They instead ended up arresting Turing himself on charges of gross indecency, an accusation that would lead to his devastating conviction for the criminal offense of homosexuality – little did officials know, they were actually incriminating the pioneer of modern-day computing.

Famously leading a motley group of scholars, linguists, chess champions and intelligence officers, he was credited with cracking the so-called unbreakable codes of Germany’s World War II Enigma machine. An intense and haunting portrayal of a brilliant, complicated man, this film follows a genius who under nail-biting pressure helped to shorten the war and, in turn, save thousands of lives.

The film, now showing in Victoria’s Cineplex Odeon Victoria Cinemas and Landmark Cinemas 4 University Heights is based on the book Alan Turing: The Enigma, by Andrew Hodges.

THE IMITATION GAME stars Benedict Cumberbatch and Keira Knightley. It won the people’s choice award at TIFF, has been noted as a front-runner for Academy Awards and is nominated for 5 Golden Globes.

Go to our Facebook page to find out how you can win a copy of Hodges’ book.