Marking the 100th anniversary of the British composer’s birth, this partly dramatised documentary does a sterling job of illuminating Britten’s music via his politics.
Director Tony Britten (no relation) paints a compelling picture of the left-wing revolution which seduced an entire generation of young aesthetes.
John Hurt narrates, while Alex Lawther is endearingly diffident as the teenage Ben.
In fact, the dramatic sequences are so well done, you’ll wonder why they didn’t make a fully narrative movie instead.