English Rose

Directed by George S. Evans

2023

Five-Fifteen Productions

A black screen filled with the sound of machine guns and war-time shelling is a stark intro to this new 17-minute short film set in the aftermath of World War II.

In May 1945 we see a soldier (played by Tom Bowes) sit pensively on a foreign shoreline alone, perhaps contemplating the horrors of the battles he’s witnessed. Pausing for a moment of quiet solitude he pulls out a pocket watch and an old photograph of his wife and child back home, a theme that comes into play later with a focus on both family and time spent away.

Yet through the beach reeds and sand-dunes, a gas-masked German soldier takes aim with his rifle with the film ratcheting up tension as to whether he will shoot this peaceful man.

However, the shot never comes and the British Tommy grabs his rifle and walks away into the countryside before coming across a dishevelled barn with a discarded Union Jack on the ground. But as he re-plants this patriotic flagpole into the earth, he delivers a “bastards” that Sean Bean would be proud of and comes across an injured comrade.

As this soldier bleeds out, our protagonist explains how that the war is over, but they also discuss how the harsh realities of combat have conflicted with the glorious army-life they were sold.

Here the film pauses for a moment of meditation on how they have lost many men, how every little contribution helped, and the sacrifices made for others. Yet, the short doesn’t flinch when it comes to showing the soldier’s demise, portraying death even after the war is done.

A war covered so much on screen, it’s safe to say that it can be difficult to bring that much new to the genre, with some clichés (family back home, war is hell etc.) appearing here too. The filmmaker takes on role of director, producer, writer and cinematographer which is not uncommon in low-budget shorts, but perhaps a second pass at the story to avoid these could have pushed the film over the top into new territory.

That said, its focus on the little moments – rather than the larger politics and battles – was a refreshing angle, and very appropriate for a short film format. The cinematography of English Rose is especially good with a wide-screen aspect ratio giving the film a cinematic quality. Unlike some war films, the music used delivers less bombastic stirring and more subtle orchestral moments at the right time to emphasise these intimate aspects.

One such moment occurs as the short focuses on our lead lighting up a cigarette. Here is some brief respite, but it also makes clear that war is never really gone (literally in this case) – as the German soldier reappears from behind then plants his rifle in the protagonist’s face.

With the gas mask connoting the often-faceless German army, the standoff becomes poignant as this final confrontation leads to a moment of reason, with both men sick of fighting their equivalent enemy.

A skilled short, English Rose has the odds stacked against it with a difficult challenge to tackle the common staples of WWII films. However, with a simple and effective approach, and a host of impressive technical aspects, the short is an articulate mix of small but emotional moments of truth set deftly amongst the large themes of war.

★★★★

4/5

Michael Sales