1917 (2019)

Directed by: Sam Mendes | 119 minutes | drama, war | Actors: George MacKay, Claire Duburcq, Dean-Charles Chapman, Mark Strong, Andrew Scott, Richard Madden, Colin Firth, Benedict Cumberbatch, Daniel Mays, Pip Carter, Andy Apollo, Paul Tinto, Josef Davies, Billy Postlethwaite, Gabriel Akuwudike, Spike Leighton, Robert Maaser, Gerran Howell, Adam Hugill, Richard McCabe, Benjamin Adams, Anson Boon, Kenny Fullwood, Tommy French, Nabhaan Rizwan

Sam Mendes broke through in 1999 with his critically acclaimed black comedy ‘American Beauty’. His debut film won no fewer than five Oscars, including those for Best Picture and Best Director. Mendes instantly became one of Hollywood’s most in-demand directors and went on to have a glittering career. Since then, the director has practiced many types of genres: crime with ‘Road to Perdition’ (2002), romance with ‘Revolutionary Road’ (2008) and ‘Away We Go’ (2009) and action with the James Bond films ‘Skyfall’ ( 2012) and ‘Spectre’ (2015). One film that is often forgotten in his filmography, however, is the underrated ‘Jarhead’ (2005), a subdued war film about a group of soldiers during the Gulf War. When the movie came out it was a huge flop. Many thought they were going to see an action spectacle, but this was not what they got. Instead of violence and explosions, they saw a gripping story about a theme that is usually not central to war films: boredom. Sometimes waging war is simply doing nothing and ‘Jarhead’ gives a fascinating glimpse into that. Over the years, more and more people have changed their initial opinion of the film, but unfortunately ‘Jarhead’ has still been quite underexposed in Mendes’ career. That is why it is very interesting that he has returned to the war genre with his new film ‘1917’.

‘Time is the enemy’ is the tagline of ‘1917’. The first few minutes of the war film confirm this slogan. Sam Mendes does not waste a single second and immediately throws his characters in a blood-curdling race against time. ‘1917’ opens in a flower-strewn moor in France, where soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George MacKay) are awakened from their rest. The pair receive disturbing news: a large number of British soldiers, including Blake’s own brother, are unknowingly threatening to fall into a German trap. With the phone lines down, it’s up to the young soldiers to deliver the message and avoid the approaching battle. However, they will have to traverse highly enemy territory to complete their mission, a mission where their lives are never guaranteed.

Sam Mendes presents ‘1917’ in two sections made to look like a few long, uninterrupted scenes. As with other films in which this has been applied, such as Oscar winner ‘Birdman’ (2014), this creates the impression that the film was filmed without cuts. This technique can be very tiring in some cases, but fortunately in the case of ‘1917’ that is not the case. Mendes and his film editor Lee Smith stitch the scenes together seamlessly, in a way that is anything but pretentious or annoying. As it turns out: an uninterrupted war film is very exciting. Mendes pushes the viewer right into the action, creating a very realistic and immersive viewing experience. At all times, as fellow travelers, we follow the characters – in the endless trenches, in dark tunnels, in bombed houses – as they move step by step towards their destination. The film offers almost no moment to exhale.

Something that often forms a stumbling block in an uninterrupted structure are the characters. After all, as a viewer you follow the same characters throughout the playing time, in this case Blake and Schofield. The story is told entirely from their perspective and with unsympathetic characters you would simply fall short. But fortunately this is not the case in ‘1917’ either. Blake and Schofield are two very charismatic characters. Unlike many other soldiers in war films, they are not walking clichés, but credible people of flesh and blood. As a viewer you don’t get to know much about them, but what you do get is more than enough. Blake, for example, is still quite naive, firmly convinced that he will complete his mission unscathed. Schofield is older and wiser, he has fought before and is a lot less optimistic about the mission. Yet there is a strong bond between the two gun friends. How long they have known each other or how they became friends in the first place remains unknown. There are no lengthy introductions or flashbacks to their past lives. The film does not tell the viewer this and lets them think about it for themselves.

A minus in ‘1917’ are some supporting characters. In addition to protagonists Chapman and MacKay, the rest of the cast is complemented by big names from the British film and television world. These actors appear in inconsiderable minor supporting roles, as well-known British actor Benedict Cumberbatch. These cameos are quite unnecessary, almost attention-grabbing, distractions from the actual story. They steal the focus from Chapman and MacKay, two still quite young actors who give the film a degree of realism. As a marketing strategy, the casting choices are understandable, but in the context of the film, they are extremely distracting.

As a suspenseful war film ‘1917’ is of a very high standard. The film manages to keep you in its grip for two hours. As such, the film is actually more successful as a thriller than as a thoughtful investigation into the war itself. Mendes does not seem so interested in the underlying ideas of the time. Rather, he wants to give his viewer a feeling, namely the complete powerlessness and fear of the main characters. There is absolutely nothing wrong with that, although it does set the film apart from earlier World War I films, such as, for example, ‘Paths of Glory’ (1957), which used the time period to address various injustices and controversies. People who are looking for a war film with a complex story have come to the wrong place. ‘1917’ is a film that relies mainly on its technical and visual aspects, in which the film excels generously.