A Reservist Before the War and After the War (1902)

A Reservist Before the War and After the War, directed by James Williamson is known as one of the most important films of its time.  Renowned for its development of social realism in film and its ability to encompass contemporary social criticism.  
The film centres around the return of a Boer War serviceman and his struggle with unemployment and his life back home.  
In A Reservist Before the War and After the War the pleasant pre-war scene is poignantly contrasted with "a post-war scene of sickness, poverty and unemployment." [Royal Pavilion, Museums & Libraries].  This use of social realism became a key theme of British cinema.

This film was the first in its kind, giving a different spin on how we see film, and how it can be used to criticise society and its views.  It gave realisation to viewers, allowing them to interpret the effects of war in a different light.
Myself and my group while coming up with the idea of our film opening, related to the intentions of Williamson, we wished to present the effect of war in a different way, allowing the viewers to understand that not all soldiers react in the same way, that war can consume and take over, leaving the former soldier as a thing of the past.