The path ahead feels bleak and unknown for two British soldiers trekking across a corpse-strewn landscape to save the lives of their fellow comrades along the French countryside in an epic World War I film.
Directed by famed filmmaker Sam Mendes, the film “1917” is cast with seasoned actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch alongside newcomers such as Dean-Charles Chapman.
The ensemble cast comes together to tell a story that depicts a tenuous moment during WWI between British forces who were attempting operations in German-occupied France.
In the same spirit as Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk,” the film tells the fictional story of young reluctant soldiers within real historical contexts, with some incidents dramatized.
Mendes started his career as a filmmaker in 1999 and has based his work off books, creator-owned properties and original screenplays.
From the facade of suburban life in “American Beauty,” to the inner turmoil of James Bond in “Skyfall” Mendes excels in creating character pieces, so he was the perfect choice for director.
With an even distribution of both personal journey and the struggles that came with the time, Mendes shows us how the war affected those involved on both an individual and emotional level.
With war scenes that draw parallels to films like “Saving Private Ryan” and “Fury,” the movie takes its similarities by not shying away from the moments battles rage on through small towns and leave them in smoke and ash.
Audiences will feel they are watching this journey through the protagonist’s eyes as they run through the trenches toward and away from danger.
Mendes accomplished this by filming through a series of uncut shots to give the impression of one continuous long take.
The technique is well executed by cinematographer Roger Deakins, a 2018 Academy Award winner for Best Cinematography for “Blade Runner 2049.”
Sides on both the German and British front attempt to gain enough power to attain a final victory during the peak of The Great War, with both aerial and land forces taking center stage.
In the midst of this, Lance Corporal Tom Blake is assigned a dire mission by his superiors to prevent a German attack on a British battalion.
Accompanied by a comrade, Blake must travel across war-torn France to deliver the message to the British battalion and stop the bloodshed before it begins.
Mendes once again proves himself to be a capable filmmaker through the small moments that humanize German soldiers keeping familial mementos with them.
Released Dec. 25, 2019, “1917” is a film well worth viewing in theaters, with the film being up for multiple Academy Awards including best picture and best director.
