As awards season begins to get into full gear, many movies are emerging as top contenders. In my opinion, one of those is Sam Mendes’ 1917.
Although the film came out on December 25th, 2019, it was released in select theaters. It officially came out on January 10th, 2020. Since the Golden Globes were on January 5th, I was excited to see it and the filmmakers were hopeful that audiences would take a chance on it and see it in the theaters.
The story follows two British soldiers who are tasked to deliver a message to another battalion in just one day in order to save 1,600 men from dying in a German trap.
Going into the movie, I knew the general plot of it, but mostly everything else about it pleasantly surprised me.
First of all, the film is made to look like it’s taken all in one shot. This was truly amazing to watch, as you can see the meticulous movements that had to be made as the characters move through trenches and the camera rotates from behind the character to in front of them.
This movie is also extremely action-packed, which makes the one-take effect even more impressive, as they have to film scenes where characters are running and jumping without any jump cuts.
When I got home, I watched a couple of videos about how they filmed this and the crew went from filming on foot to riding a motorcycle, and even made tiny dioramas of the sets to make sure the camera movement was perfect.
The film rarely takes place inside as well, which means that the weather is a huge factor in whether production goes on or not, as the lighting needs to constantly have continuity.
These videos helped me see how much hard work went into the film and it made me appreciate it even more, as the filmmakers had a clear vision and did everything in their power to pull it off.
In the movie, the characters move through no-man’s-land to trenches to ruins of a village, and they do a phenomenal job of making you feel like you’re actually there. From the production design to the camera never coming off the two protagonists, it is a truly immersive experience.
The captivating nature of this movie helps the audience connect with the characters on a deeper emotional level. Since the camera never comes off the characters, you feel like you get to know them which makes the difficult parts of their journey hit even harder.
It seems to me that of the few WWI movies, most are easily forgettable. This one, however, is one of the most realistic in my opinion, because of all of the technical aspects, it shows what life might have been like during the war. At times it can be brutal and harsh, but it simply showed how truly straining the war was.
This movie got nominated for 10 Oscars this year, including Best Picture. I truly hope the filmmakers are rewarded heavily for how much extra work and precision went into every aspect of production in this movie, and I highly recommend it to anyone who wants to see a great movie.
