The Latest Breaking News from Siegfried Sassoon

Before she became a mother, Samantha Ellis secretly judged other parents who let their children subsist on white bread and pesto-pasta. And when her son was born she couldn’t wait to share the Iraqi Jewish food of her ancestors. Unfortunately, he had other ideas …

Delve into the hypnotic world of lyrical literature

First World War poetry has always been defined by gay writers, so why is our idea of war still so heteronormatively masculine? Marcus Field speaks to two writers bringing questions of war, heroism and gender to the fore

We made it! The No 1 film is here and it’s a stunning directorial debut, inarguably one of the finest cinematic moments of any year

My list of the best movies of 2022 is still in the works. In the meantime, I figured a list of my favorite movie performances this year would be easier to compile. I was wrong, of course — not just because there are always more actors than movies to choose…

British director Terence Davies’s ninth feature centres on Siegfried Sassoon, a poet and decorated war veteran who suffered from shell shock and struggled to find 'redemption' from his secret queer romances.

"Benediction," Terence Davies' achingly beautiful portrait of the English war poet and soldier Siegfried Sassoon, is a movie of acute sadness and intense pleasure. The pleasure and the sadness are inextricable, which seems fitting, given how closely aesthetic bliss and moral despair were entwined in Sassoon's own art. In furious,…

In Terence Davies’ “Benediction,” a moving portrait of English war poet Siegfried Sassoon, the blessing bestowed is both literal and cinematic. While older Siegfried (Peter Capaldi) receives a blessing from a priest while converting to Catholicism, much to the chagrin of his adult son, George (Richard Goulding), the true benediction…

The war poet’s life provides rich material for director Terence Davies to explore his preoccupations with sexuality, religion and the search for redemption