By Tom Siebert
The
brilliant new movie “1917” is seemingly and seamlessly filmed in one continuous
shot, capturing the chaos of World War I in two harrowing hours, with no
respite from reality and not even a moment to mourn the mounting dead.
All
is anything but quiet on the Western Front in Northern France when too-young
British lance corporals Will Schofield (George McKay) and Tom Blake
(Dean-Charles Chapman) are tasked with the perilous mission of hand-delivering
retreat orders to the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment, lest 1,600
soldiers including Tom’s brother are massacred in a counterattack by the German
army.
Thus
begins director Sam Mendes’ shell-shocking drama that accompanies Will and Tom
as they painstakingly traverse a hellscape of mortar, machine guns, barbed
wire, bloody waters, and bloated bodies––testing them physically, psychically,
and spiritually.
Based
partially on the stories told to Mr. Mendes by his grandfather Alfred, who
fought in the so-called Great War, “1917” is precisely choreographed with slow-
and fast-moving cameras that immerse the viewer into the battlefield action as
well as the ever-changing emotions of the main characters.
It
is a cinematic feat that will be taught by film professors who were once wowed
by Orson Welles’ opening tracking shot in 1958’s “Touch of Evil” and Alfred
Hitchcock’s 1948 thriller “Rope,” with its smoothly rolling cameras that
appeared to present the narrative in real time.
But
“1917” is much more than digital trickery and technical gimmickry by famed
cinematographer Roger Deakins. It is also a colossal engineering and
architectural accomplishment.
The
pre-production crew dug a mile of deep trenches through the Scottish plains and
erected more than 150 3D models of war-ravaged sets.
During
filming the characters’ movements and sparse dialogue had to be perfectly
synchronized with each “scene.”
And
everyone had to deal with the moods of the sun, since the film could be shot
solely under the gray skies that prevailed during the actual day of the wartime
event, April 6, 1917.
During
their race-with-time rescue operation, wide-eyed Will tells his comrade Tom:
“We need to keep moving!” And so does this relentless shark-like movie, which
has been nominated for 10 Academy Awards including Best Picture, Best Director,
and Best Original Screenplay.
In
one particularly stunning sequence, lance corporals Schofield and Blake search
for occupying German soldiers in the bombed-out rubble of a town that is
literally lit up by the white glare of phosphorous flares.
This
primitive technology is evidenced throughout “1917.” For instance, the airplane
was not invented until 1903, but fourteen years later it had become a crude
weapon of war, as depicted by a dizzying dogfight between British and German
planes.
Moreover,
the heartrending scene of a soldier bleeding to death was sadly typical in the
First World War, long before the introduction of MASH units in the U.S-Korean
conflict and medical helicopters during America’s decade-long military
involvement in Vietnam.
And
aside from the cynical banter of an animated bunch of British soldiers riding
in the back of a transport truck, there is virtually no discussion in this
otherwise ambitious film about what started the cataclysmic war, which took the
lives of more than 20 million people.
For
the historical record, on June 28, 1914, a Serbian nationalist assassinated the
presumptive leader of Austria-Hungary, which then attacked Serbia.
Russia
and its interlocking allies France, Italy, and Great Britain were then drawn
into the war against Central Powers Austria-Hungary, Germany, Bulgaria, and the
Ottoman Empire.
Better
communications between the countries may have prevented the First World War,
just as improved field telephones would have negated the need for the
miles-long foot mission of Messrs. Schofield and Blake to the front lines.
And
when the stand-down message is finally conveyed to Colonel Mackenzie (Benedict
Cumberbatch), the commanding officer laments, “I hoped today might be a good
day. Hope is a dangerous thing.”
That
may be true, but we must all hope and pray there will never be a World War III.
Because with nine countries now possessing nuclear weapons, there would not
likely be anyone left on earth to make a movie about it.
