'Their War' is overwhelmingly deserving of all of the accolades that it has collected thus far and I cannot recommend it enough!
This short is heart breaking in the most unassuming way; it does not tell you how to feel, it does not attempt to romanticise the lives of soldiers, it does not attempt to vilify either side, and it does not overtly attempt to emphasise the struggles of the soldiers. Rather, it simply presents the intersecting lives of a British and German soldier and invites you to reflect on the all-to-common situation that they find themselves in.
The British Soldier, Jeffries (Riddle) is evidently too young and too innocent for the fight he is heading to, and this is captured brilliantly by the flicker of emotion that crosses Hornshaw's (Hartley) face as he fills in the young recruit's papers. Jeffries seems symbolic of the many, many faceless young men who should not have to leave their young (and in this case pregnant) wives behind. Meanwhile, through the German Soldier, Nikolaus' (Carney) admission to his fellow soldiers that he does not see the British soldiers as his enemy, and he does not want to kill them, 'Their War' subtly explores the sense of a lost identity that was all too often the result of the conflict; this is also then poignantly presented in the final moments of the film when we see the weary way in which he rises to fight again - seemingly just going through the motions.
In addition to the thought provoking and devastating action, 'Their War' is visually superb and the score effortlessly compliments the dull aches of sadness that you cannot help but feel when you watch it.
