1917

1917

Starring Dean-Charles Chapman, George MacKay, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch

Directed by Sam Mendes

The first film to win the Oscar for Best Picture was "Wings" in 1927 - a film about World War I, also known as the Great War, or the War to End All Wars.  Since then very few films have been made about this war: "All Quiet on the Western Front," "Lawrence of Arabia," and most recently "Wonder Woman" and "They Shall Not Grow Old" are some of the most well-known, but compared to World War II, there's hardly a whimper of mention of the first World War in film.  "Skyfall" director Sam Mendes decided to change things with "1917," a film about two Corporals who must cross enemy lines to deliver an important message to another British battalion calling off a planned attack before they stumble into an ambush.  This story stems from Sam Mendes' grandfather's experiences during the War and the stories he told when he came home, and the story itself is compelling, exciting, and absolutely thrilling in its almost simplistic nature.

Still, one often wonders why there's not many World War I films, especially compared to the plethora of  World War II films.  Varying reasons come to mind - there's no one still alive who fought during the War, the causes of the War are murky at best (especially compared to the easily film-able good vs. evil nature of WWII), and there's no grandiose fighting, as most of the fighting were done in trenches, and the most famous trench warfare battle known as "no man's land" is the only really intriguing aspect.  Yet, for a war deemed as the "War to End All Wars," there's a surprising lack of films centering on it.

"1917" will easily garner much acclaim (it's already earned Mendes a Golden Globe for Best Director as well as the film winning Best Drama), and there's several factors why.  The film is a heartfelt race against time as two young Corporals must deliver a message to another British battalion calling off an attack due to a trap being set up by the Germans, all the more dire since one of the soldiers is the older brother of Corporal Tom Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman).  He brings his friend Will Schofield (George MacKay) on the mission, and along the way we witness - along with the two men - the true horrors of war.  Not just the visuals, but they also undergo their own transformations on the journey, as they encounter setback after setback that would've caused anyone else to give up, but they continued to press on to make sure they save the lives of over a thousand British soldiers.

Some films rely on gimmicks to draw people to the theater to overcompensate for a poorly written script or terrible acting, but "1917" has no such negative hiccups.  The story is tight, concise, and thrilling, and the acting from relative newcomers George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman is captivating and engrossing.  The "gimmick" Sam Mendes adds to the story is the fact that the entire film is seemingly shot in just one take: the camera never takes its lens off the two heroes, and looks like it wasn't edited at all (even though it was).  This gives the viewer a more personal look at the two men, and a more intimate look into their journey, almost as if we were the third person accompanying them.  We, like them, have no idea what dangers may lay across the next trench or if there's an enemy hiding in an abandoned house, and it brings the tension to new heights.  This is perfectly executed by Oscar-winning cinematographer Roger Deakins, who's easily the best cinematographer of this generation.  Apart from the camerawork, he gives a sense to the audience that you almost feel and smell the same things those two men did: be it the flies flying around the carcasses of horses, the copious amounts of dead bodies floating in different rain-induced puddles, or the enormous rats, you feel like you smell the death and decay that they did - and are equally as grossed out, even if that's just the bacon bits of the suck salad the two men had to endure on their journey.

Thanks to the stellar work of Roger Deakins, "1917" gives a very intimate look at the time-sensitive journey two Corporals must make in order to save lives, and gives the audience the unique feel that they're right there with them through their adventure - culminating in an unforgettable experience.

The Score: A+