One line Review: 1917 is a movie that will keep you at the edge of your seat until the end. Must Watch.
Starring: George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, etc.
Directed By: Sam Mendes
Release Date: 04 December 2019
Introduction
Provided with an impossible and dangerous task, two British Soldiers Schofield and Blake are supposed to carry a message to a British Battalion crossing unforeseen dangers on their way. Sam Mendes has come up with yet another masterpiece in 1917 in the category of War and Drama.
Quoting the review given by The Times Of India:
“‘1917’ is tense, captivating, meticulous, horrifying, and stirring.”
~ Times Of India
1917 as a movie can’t get any better than what it is now and I will give a rating of 9/10 for the sheer brilliance in its execution.
Summary
A trap set by the German Soldiers and around 1600 British soldiers marching towards it being unaware of what is lying ahead. The only way to stop them from a tragedy ahead is to carry this message to them by foot and this task is assigned to a pair of British soldiers.
Lance Corporal Schofield and Lance Corporal Blake are assigned with the task of carrying a message to the British battalion ahead who are all prepared to march towards a death-trap set by the Germans before the next morning. Blake’s brother is one of the soldiers in the battalion who is about to march towards the trap set ahead of them, which only makes it worse for Blake.
Schofield and Blake had to pass through no-man’s land, through an abandoned German trench, etc on their way afoot and they meet up with a lot of unforeseen dangers ahead. While inside the german trench, both of them come across a tripwire that gets set-off by a rat and nearly kills Blake.
Schofield and Blake come out of the trenches and manages to get in an abandoned farmhouse on their way where a German Aircraft crashes. They manage to save the burning pilot from the aircraft but as Schofield tries to get some water, Blake is stabbed by the pilot before getting shot and killed by Schofield. Before Blake takes his last breath, Schofield promises Blake that he will complete his mission and will let his mother know about him.
Now with a heavier task in his hands, Schofield continues on his mission. The rest of the movie is all about whether Schofield survives to make it to the British battalion on time.
Performances and Technical Aspects
Being Lance Corporal Schofield and Lance Corporal Blake, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman had pulled off their roles in a very convincing manner respectively. As most of the movies include only the duo’s screen captivity, they had a big task on their shoulders which they had managed deliver impressively.
Although the story of 1917 is catchy, it was the technical brilliance of the movie that managed to win the hearts of people. 1917 is shot and edited in such a way that it looked like a single shot movie. You will never feel a tendency to take your eyes off the screen until the end of the movie. Hence a good load of the movie’s success rests on the shoulder of the cinematographer Roger Deakins.
Sam as a director did succeed in bringing out the tragic elements left behind a war by showcasing the wrath caused on the way of the soldiers to the battalion. The musical score by Thomas Newman lifts the movie to a greater level.
1917 managed to grab three awards in the 97th Academic Awards for Best Cinematography, Best Visual Effects, and Best Sound Mixing.
Overall Review
If to narrow down the review of 1917 to a single word, I’d say that it is ‘Breathtaking’. 1917 is more of an experience than just a film. You have to live it through to feel the efforts behind the making of this extraordinary war drama. If you are a cine lover, don’t miss this gem of a movie!
