At the height of the First World War, two young British soldiers, Schofield (George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) are given a seemingly impossible mission. In a race against time, they must cross enemy territory and deliver a message that will stop a deadly attack on hundreds of...Read more
‘1917’ brilliantly depicts both the chaos and the humanity of World War I
You won’t soon shake off this immersion into young soldiers’ bloody, muddy reality.
FOUR STARS (out of four)
Richard Roeper / Chicago Sun-Times
With brilliant, innovative, claustrophobically effective directing choices by Mendes, Oscar-worthy cinematography from the living legend Roger Deakins and strong, raw performances from the two young leads, “1917” is a unique viewing experience you won’t soon shake off. Although scenes were spliced together in post, the great bulk of “1917” comes across visually as one long unbroken shot.
When we follow a couple of soldiers as they make their way through seemingly endless, serpentine-like trenches, walking past men who are wounded, exhausted, dazed, taking a quick break, engaged in heated conversation, etc., etc., it’s as if we’re dropping in on life after life for a second or two — and yet it feels as if the camera could stop at any time and focus on any one of those men, and they’d have a story worthy of their own movie to tell. Rarely have we cared so much about characters with so very little screen time. This is one of the best films about World War I ever made.
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