The Burying Party

A tapestry woven with well-chosen snippets of Owen's poetry, tasteful cinematography, superlative performances and a script that somehow echoes the poetic form itself, this film succeeded where so many other war films fail. A delicate balance of brutality and sensitivity between scenes sets us up for the gut punch finale. On the one hand, we marvel at the eloquence of Owen and his poetic comrades even as they wax lyrical over a few pints whilst on leave; on the other, we're shocked at the horrors these men must endure and inflict on the battlefield. Like Owen himself, we are led inexorably to an ending that starkly evokes the ruthlessness, absurdity and of course, the pity of war.