1917: Horrific Beauty of War
1917 is an immersive World War I drama shown through the eyes of two British soldiers as they move through the trenches and battlefields of northern France. Schofield and Blake are enlisted to go across enemy lines with a message for fellow troops that are planning an attack that will backfire on them. They must reach the troops to stop the attack while racing against time and the odds of survival on this deadly journey. Mendes has delivered an engaging survival thriller that takes place on an epic scale while also feeling intimate by following two young British soldiers.
Mendes uses the brilliant cinematography of Roger Deakins and the production design to put audiences right in the middle of the chaos and horror of war. The movies is large in scale with shifting points of view from the ground to sky and the soldiers entering terrifying environments one after another with no break. The film perfectly captures the soldiers' sense of anxiety as they continue to go into new undiscovered territory. The whole time is stressful with multiple surprises and shocks that weave into the story line. In this film anything can happens at any moment and it is a constant reminder that no one is safe from war. Moments in the film provokes audience to gasp and jump out of their seats while watching guns fire and rocks fall on the soldiers. 1917 is an immersive, engaging theatrical experience. The beauty of the French countryside is perfectly juxtaposed to the dead, rotting bodies painting both a picturesque and grotesque tone for the film. The most mesmerizing scene takes place when Schofield is running through a destroyed French town at night and the bombings are lighting up the town for him so he can escape from the enemies. At one point audiences see the back of him blurred and yellow from the bombs in front of him illuminated the destroyed city from war.
1917 shows the human cost of war. It emphasizes the struggles these young men have inherited by their country going to war. They are now tasked with representing their country and fighting for it. As the camera pans over the soldiers it is important to note that many of them are young boys and it seems as if Mendes is sending a message to audiences based on their naive, youthful faces. Throughout the entire film George Mackay's Schofield has watchable eyes that depict both innocence and exhaustion from the war.
What makes 1917 so impressive is that it is presented as a single-tracking shot. This style fuels the immersive experience the audience goes on e as the story continues the audience goes deeper and deeper into the world created by Sam Mendes. Through the screen you feel excitement, anxiety and shock while you are right there with them on this deadly journey.
1917 is an emotional thrill-ride that is beautifully crafted. It is shot and paced out so well and feels unlike any other war movie that came before it. It is showing the real affects of war from the point of view of the young soldiers who were forced to pack up and go fight for their country. Throughout the film as animals are dead and towns are destroyed it is pointed out that this was all caused by humans and shouldn't have gotten this bad. In this dehumanizing environment it makes us ask the question of what it means to be human. It is an intimate experience that questions the meaning of war and shows the price that is paid.