Gritty War Thriller Pulls No Punches

A group of Russian soldiers fight Nazi loyalists as they attempt bringing Hitler’s body to Stalin. Burial portrays the brutality and ugliness of war, but also focuses on extremist ideology as equally dangerous. Director/writer Ben Parker reminds that evil intentions survives a rotting carcass. The plot has Hitler’s ardent followers continuing to commit atrocities decades later. A valiant heroine stops them at two different points in her life. She and her compatriots suffer for the cause but understand the importance of their efforts. Burial is a lean and gritty thriller that mirrors the savagery of real life.

In 1991 London, Anna Marshall (Harriet Walter) watches the fall of the Soviet Union on television. A Nazi sympathizer in a wolf mask, Karl Edwards (David Alexander), breaks into her house. He vastly underestimates his target. Anna interrogates her shackled attacker. Karl venomously spits his sinister goal. He knows her true name and secret mission. Anna laughs at the misguided young fool. She tells him the truth about what happened in the final days of World War II.

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A shaken Brana Brodskaya (Charlotte Vega) watches as a large crate is loaded on a truck. She’s outside Hitler’s Berlin bunker in 1945. Her commanding officer gives stern orders. The crate cannot be flown to Moscow for security reasons. She will accompany several soldiers overland to a train rendezvous in Poland. They must move quickly. Bury the crate every time you stop to prevent it from being discovered.

Brana is repulsed by Vadim (Dan Renton Skinner). He takes charge when the truck is attacked near a Polish village. Vadim and his cronies decide to find “warmth” from the village women. Brana follows them to get the mission back on track. Tor (Barry Ward), Iossif (Bill Millner), and Dimitry (Niall Murphy) stay with the buried body. They’re not alone in the woods. Werewolf, a moniker given to Nazis who refused to surrender, have been tracking them. Their leader (Kristjan Üksküla) has a diabolical plan for Hitler’s remains.

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Burial Shows Humanity’s Worst Instincts

Burial pulls no punches in showing humanity’s worst instincts. Vadim looks for women to assault. The villagers see no difference between the Germans or Russians. They take what’s needed then rape and kill afterwards. Brana comments that she’s “surrounded by wolves.” But completing the mission is sacrosanct. She must do whatever’s necessary to get the body to Stalin. Tom Felton co-stars as Lukasz, a Polish man of German descent who was conscripted. He becomes Brana’s valuable ally when the blood starts pouring. Lukasz can’t believe she would sacrifice so much for Stalin’s trophy. Brana’s response is stark and accurate. Hitler, a villainous murderer of millions, was a man not a demon. He took a cowardly exit rather than face justice. She wants the world to see his lifeless shell.

Ben Parker (The Chamber) doesn’t allow the innocent to die without remorse. A gripping scene has Brana and Tor devastated by the horror they’ve brought. The protagonists feel the weight of their actions. Too many films gloss over murder victims and collateral casualties. Burial respects that their lives have meaning. War is hell and always needs to be depicted as such. I couldn’t help but think of the Ukrainian civilians terrorized by Russian soldiers.

Burial is a production of Stigma Films, Allfilm, Fields Park Media Partners, Head Gear Films, Kreo Films FZ, MBK Productions, and Metrol Technology. It will have a theatrical and VOD release on September 2nd from IFC Midnight.

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