Most of our education about World War II stops with the liberation of concentration camps. Unless you lived through the war or fought in it, little discussion is had about the days after. The tensions that different nationalities still had for each other, the cleanup, or the missions still being run for soldiers. The aftermath of war lasts for a long time, but it seems like the history books and the media often misses that part of the story.
In the new IFC Midnight Film, Burial, the days after World War II ended are reimagined and a different story is told. The atrocities of the war aren’t changed, but the missions of the soldiers after the fact are told a bit differently. Burial follows a group of Russian Soldiers who are on a mission to deliver Hitler’s body to Stalin to confirm his death and identity. These soldiers go through the extreme of burying the body nightly, digging it up, and moving it during the day. And no matter what happens, they are dedicated to their mission of delivering the body to Stalin.
Like any movie dealing with this time frame, or any war, there of course are a lot of death and bloody scenes. It’s not a simple mission and with the stakes being as high as they are, the fights are intense. Since the soldiers move at night, a lot of the film is dark and fight scenes in the wood are better played out in a dark theater or on a high-contrast screen.
The story is engaging, yet intense and will make you question just what could have happened to Hitler’s body after he took his own life. While not historically accurate, the movie makes you think and doesn’t gloss over the horrors of the war and the days following it.
History buffs may have a bit of a harder time with Burial since it’s a complete work of fiction. But the story is definitely one that will make viewers look at this time period a bit differently. It will keep your interest through the whole film and falls in that sweet spot of just about 90 minutes making it an easy-to-digest narrative.
Burial is opening In Theaters and Everywhere You Rent Movies on September 2nd.
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About Burial
Set during the waning days of World War II, BURIAL tells the fictional story of a small band of Russian soldiers tasked with delivering the crated remains of Hitler back to Stalin in Russia.
En route, the unit is attacked by German “Werewolf” partisans and picked off one-by-one. An intrepid female intelligence officer leads her surviving comrades in a last stand to ensure their cargo doesn’t fall into the hands of those who would hide the truth forever.
