The three young men are gay budding poets, thrown together in battle. They soon lose their boyish innocence in the trenches. On the front line an officer’s life expectancy is barely six weeks. They all struggle to cope with the magnitude of the slaughter around them and forge deep, intense friendships. Together they give a voice to the rage of a generation. At the heart of the film is the story of Sassoon and Owen’s forbidden love affair, told through their passionate correspondence. John Hurt plays Sassoon in the 1960s, in the twilight years of his life. He is haunted by his experiences in the trenches and cannot overcome the grief of losing the love of his life. He provides the backbone to the film as we flash back with him to his younger self.
I will admit that poetry is really not my thing, like not at all. But I o have feelings to connect with these three individuals who are in the war, trying to hold on to the passion of poetry and also hiding their sexuality but slowly falling in love. The film is touching in places but for an audience like me, who doesn't know much about either the poets or the story; it loses me at various points with its excessive poetry. It was a good primer though to the realities of trench warfare and those men who not only fought, but also wrote about what they saw. The film was touching in places, but somehow just not enough or even closer. The good thing is that just under 50 minutes, it was a short easy watch. (3.5/10)
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