A great film that will go unnoticed in theaters
This is Benediction by Terence Davies, a great British creator who has, in my opinion, 2-3 masterpieces on his CV (Distant Voices Still Lives, The Long Day Closes and my personal favorite Of Time and the City) and which should have a much larger audience than it has known so far.
The film tells the story of Siegfried Sassoon, a British poet and WWI veteran. who was incarcerated in a mental hospital for his anti-war stance, while we also follow his homosexual sex life and the entanglement of his desire with his Christian faith. As with almost every Davies film, the strength of Benediction lies in its combination of lyricism, sensitivity and tenderness with unspeakable cruelty.
Meanwhile, one of the reasons I say it will go unnoticed is the fact that 1 and a half years have passed since the festival run of Benediction (Thessaloniki was played here and it was one of my favorite films of 2021), while in most cinema markets it was distributed on Spring '22 and is generally available for digital viewing.
In other words, it's likely that most people (already) interested in the film would have found other ways to see it, and its terribly delayed release (combined with zero promotion) doesn't help the film reach audiences that otherwise would he could perhaps go to the hall. Still, trust me, if you haven't seen it, it's worth it on the big screen.
Benediction
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