Benediction focuses on the life of Siegfried Sassoon, decorated for bravery as a British soldier during World War I but ultimately a vocal critic of the government’s continuation of the war. One of the leading British poets, he became a focal point for dissent and spent some time in a military psychiatric hospital. Sassoon is performed by Jack Lowden as a young man and Peter Capaldi in his later years. Also starring Simon Russell Beale, Jeremy Irvine, Kate Phillips and Gemma Jones, the film also explores Sassoon’s existence as a closeted gay man and his relationships with prominent figures of the time, including Ivor Novello, Edith Sitwell and Wilfred Owen. (UK 2021) 137 min.

At the Rafael, the film is a special presentation for Pride Month, honoring the LGBTQ+ community.

Writer-director Terence Davies is a “living legend” of British filmmaking, starting with his first feature, Distant Voices, Still Lives (1988) widely considered one of the most significant of all British films. Other work includes The Long Day Closes, The Neon Bible and A Quiet Passion, which starred Cynthia Nixon as poet Emily Dickenson. The Evening Standard simply calls Terence Davies  “Britain’s greatest living filmmaker.”