My Review of "1917"

1917 came out in 2019. A full 102 years after the events of the movie. The events that had happened in the movie were loosely based on stories that the director Sam Mendes had heard from his war veteran grandfather. I can't imagine anyone going through the situations that were described in this movie because the movie is disturbingly visceral and authentic.

The movie starts off with two soldiers, Blake and Schofield. These two soldiers are lying down minding their own business when they're awoken by their superior officers. Blake is really good with maps and he chooses Schofield to help him out because he's his friend.

The two are escorted to meet up with General Erinmore. He has a grand task for the two of them. This task gets a little personal for Blake as it has something to do with his older brother. Erinmore basically wants the two to go on a suicidal run across this no-man's land in order to give instructions to the Blake's brother's division not to attack in the morning.

Erinmore assures the two that it isn't a suicide mission because the Nazi's have scaled back. They in fact, moved back in order to plan a trap on Blake's brother's division in the morning. It is imperative that they get these instructions to the division on time so that they can save around 1600 soldier's lives including Blake's brother.

Obviously Blake loves his brother so he makes it a personal mission to make this happen. Schofield on the other hand doesn't really want to be part of it because he knows what lies behind enemy lines. He's recently won a medal for valor recently but he doesn't think much of it. You can tell that the war has put a big strain on his psyche.

They are soldiers and do as they are told despite the potential danger of the mission. So it's almost like a Lord of the Rings but in World War I. It's pretty crazy right from the get go.

The music and the visual direction of this movie are unbelievable. First of all the movie is shot to seem like it's in one shot. There are no cutting like some sort of music video. It's just one long video take and you'd think that this would get boring after a while but instead it gives the movie a more organic feeling. It feels much more realistic this way.

There's also a bigger sense of danger at any point. The musical score for this movie further elevates the intensity and suspense of each of the scenes. This movie does a fantastic job in making us feel that just about anything can happen at any moment of the movie. I constantly felt like the two of them would get killed at any moment in the movie. There's booby traps and Nazi guards everywhere.

I also liked the brotherhood comradery that the soldiers have for one another. It looks like they do have their differences but they all do recognize they're fighting the same war and need to help each other no matter what. There are times when you know that the characters hate each other but don't actually hate each other because they're all sort of like family. Blake and Schofield build their relationship together as they continue through the dangers of the field.

The movie also does a great job in giving us the mental health of all of the soldiers on the field. This is done through very good editing and incredible acting as well. There are so many soldiers that are going through so many different types of emotions during the war which was probably true at the time. It helps that we can see why they're having these feelings when we see the carnage and destruction through the movie. Some of the sights are incredibly detailed with macabre and horror. I couldn't imagine how the soldiers there didn't go crazy while living through this hell.

Overall, I was actually moved by this movie by the end of the film. I went through so many ranges of emotions that by the end I was a little exhausted. I loved how real it seemed because it gave me an even deeper appreciation for the war veterans in general. I have to give this movie an 8 out of 10. I will be watching this movie over again and will recommend it to all of my friends.