Laideez
and zentilmeen - there AIN'T NO SPOILERS here. Forever.
Welcome
to my take on 1917. Watched on Jan 26,
2020. Directed by Sam Mendes.
Cinematography,
sound, George Mackay's acting, and Sam Mendes who put this thing together.
Lethal combo. The vagaries and insanity of war. The perversion of the human
existence in the form of floating bodies. Slush and filth. Green fields and the
deep blue sea. You just want to let them be.
The
story: In 1917 in the middle of World War 1, an English army regiment and the
General find out that the Germans have retreated from a strategic position in
France. They realize this is a trap to make sixteen hundred troops come after
them and then "bomb the shit out of them". But the troops are at
least a couple of days away and the only way to stop them from launching their
attack is to send a couple of messengers with the General's orders to call off
the attack. Two junior soldiers (Lance Corporals), Will Schofield and Tom Blake
are selected to go on this mission which might very well be a one way trip to
hell.
The reason General Erinmore (Colin Firth) gives the two soldiers why its only the two of them going to deliver this message? "Down to Gehenna or up to the Throne, he travels the fastest who travels alone". And you know you're going to travel with these soldiers from that point. But you will not be ready for that journey. Guaranteed!
From
that moment on, I was sitting at the edge of my rear end and didn't even feel the
edge of the seat biting into it. George Mackay (Schofield) and Dean-Charles
Chapman (Blake) are the two corporals on the mission, with explicit orders from
the General. On the way Schofield is told to have witnesses when the message
(order to call off the attack) is delivered to Colonel MacKenzie (commanding
the sixteen hundred troops for the attack) because in those days you just did
things for glory and medal.
1917
is a quest, an adventure, a mission of two Lance Corporals in the British army
trying to save the lives of sixteen hundred men about to walk into a trap set
by the Germans. In the midst of what we call the Great War now, we can see the
nonsensical nature of existence and how life is treated in all Her forms.
Methinks
the other essence of 1917 is that Sam has figured out how to bring out the soul
of the film through the contrasting souls and their behaviors. For example the
French lady Schofield runs into with the other stranger (nope, won't tell you
more), the reaction of Lieutenant Blake, Mark Strong playing the passing
British regiment, and several other occasions. Sam's also figured out how to
extract the anti-souls from the human spirit - e.g. when Blake and Schofield
encounter the German pilot. Just goes to say how circumstances can change lives
quickly, oh so quickly, and what "boundless human stupidity" the
Great War was. Actually I'd prefer to call it the real small War. Let's not
give it such a pedestal.
Enough
said - Go watch 1917 and live it yourself! I'm a 7.5/10 for this Sam Mendes masterpiece.
And
oh, my ratings will crystallize for you over time - it’s a composite of various
factors weighted thoughtfully to arrive at the right recipe with the secret
magic sauce. I'll unveil it soon enough. Until then...ensoii the journey :-)
