MOVIE | 1917 (2020)

Copyright Universal Pictures

The story about World War I seems never finished. There's always more behind the story, more behind the story's story and so go on. Like most of the war movies, 1917 did not focus on characters, it focused on the tale, on how it told and how it received. Back in 2017, Christoper Nolan's Dunkirk came out and that was the first movie about war that I did not flinch a bit. Although Dunkirk told the story about WW II, both movie has a similar storytelling wise. The filmmakers wanted us to be emotionally there without attaching our feelings to one or two characters. 

I'm so amazed with the cinematography in this movie! 

Sam Mendes' Spectre memorable opening scene was a legit success. That opening scene was so beautifully shot that the audience believed it was one shot. In 1917, most of the scenes are that tracking shot. That kind of camera work made the audience felt like playing video games because most of the time we were behind someone's back. It worked. 1917 has nevertheless the most beautiful cinematography in war movie theme. The colour palette, the camera work, the movement, even the close-up, everything was perfect. It was done beautifully that I was very sure it was shot one time only until I watched the behind the scenes video. If Mendes did not get enough appreciation for this kind of cinematography, I honestly lost faith in what so-told movie lovers wanted. 

Story-wise, 1917 reminded me of Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. The way sets of corporals, Schofield (MacKay) and Blake (Chapman), searching for a brother, in a special quest to save a thousand lives. Either way, I love how 1917 did not let us attach to characters longer. I love a war movie that purely tells the truth (I guess we never know) about what actually happened, gives us insight on how the soldiers cope up with the emotional issue, how the battlefield looks like. 1917 gave you a simple storyline with heaps of troubles on the way. 1917 was dense with the atmosphere. Every time they stepped on a new place, I felt so uneasy and scared for them, there was always something went wrong. 

Thomas Newman's score was also providing more intensity and story to the plot, an eerie yet beautiful back sounds, the sound mixing for the sound of water, wind, leaves, and branches. Everything was born ready to give you an insight of battlefield horror. Music plays a fairly important role in a movie - there was always that one noise that ruined the entire atmosphere of the movie, however I did not find a single flaw in this movie. The story, the cinematography, the music, the acting, and directing, they complimented one another and that made a beautiful movie to watch. 

Sam Mendes' 1917 reminded you of every single war movie that you've ever watched but thousand times better. It is an astonishing film with a simple storyline. 1917 felt like wasn't a movie but an experience. 

Love, Vera