1917


Sam Mendes’ grandfather’s stories of World War One have resulted in the film-maker dramatising an incident where two soldiers must travel to deliver a message to call off an offensive, which is a trap, in order to save thousands of lives. The film is notable for being a single shot: the camera stays on the protagonists for the entire running time: no cut-aways, no flashbacks, nothing to distract from the people.

The premise sounds similar to Saving Private Ryan, with the War being the horrific backdrop to a personal story. If you’ve been to Ypres and the Menin Gate, or Arras or Vimy Ridge… any ground that was conceded or won in the ‘Great War’ you’ll understand the scale of devastation which is witnessed in part by Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay). The single shot editing style quickly proves not to be a gimmick at all as the scene moves from almost beautifully peaceful countryside to trenches and explosions. Death surrounds everyone, except maybe the officers that book-end the story: General Erinmore (Colin Firth) at the start and Col. Mackenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) who are ordering the action. The cliché of these people is subtly dealt: there’s a grumpy General near the beginning who’s barking at his men to move a tree that blocks the road. 

Of course it’s the journey that’s the story, and the film is heartbreaking and sad, and also somehow exhilarating. When the two men are put together there’s fear and anger; when the enemy is encountered at close quarters it’s shocking; and all the time the risk of being killed by enemy action or as a result of having to evade the enemy. Hardly any of this lacks credibility: there is an incident that looks to be effects heavy and a bit filmic, but apart from that the experience of the film is is genuinely like following the action and not knowing what is going to happen next. Obviously we know that there’s an ending, but the rug can easily be pulled out by a running sequence becomes a falling sequence and a swimming sequence… It’s all very quick and quite breathtaking.


No single film should be charged with being a Remembrance piece, and some who dislike this work have accused it of letting down the names of the millions that died in the First World War. This relatively small story demonstrates something that’s not often seen: the ordinary soldier determinedly carrying out an order, and there’s no satire about it. There’s some gallows humour along the way but otherwise 1917 is appropriately serious and matter-of-fact. It’s a film about trying to prevent going ‘over the top’ in vain—an unusual notion because it all seems futile. As such it’s worth seeing and stays with you a long while afterwards.

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