We've seen many films depict world wars and battles that have been recorded in history, but rarely do we engage in one that's set during "The Great War" - also known as World War I and during a time when the world was shocked to wits end and very young men and women were sent into the battlefield without knowing whether they were going to make it out alive and back to their loved ones. Sam Mendes, the director of the James Bond 007 movies "Skyfall" and "Spectre", delivers his tribute and arguably one of his greatest films ever in "1917" - a film depicting two young British soldiers as they are ordered to deliver a handwritten message to a battalion before they engage in an attack that is doomed to fail and will cost many lives.
Tense, dramatic, and full of the horrors that can be seen in a battlefield, Mendes engages audiences in a seemingly "One Take" journey that follows our protagonists, George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, as they wade through No Man's Land and enemy lines - crossing dead bodies, seeing destruction and death at every turn, and most importantly experiencing the shock and trauma that comes with war, as we're left to pray and hope that our two young Lance Corporals Schofield and Blake make it out alive and succeed in their mission.
Thanks to UIP Movies Philippines, I was able to catch "1917" two weeks ago before it makes it theatrical run in theaters in the Philippines, and believe me when I tell you that this is one of the best war films I have ever seen. Sam Mendes, basing his film in part from an account told by his grandfather Alfred Mendes, recreates a world that many of us have learned from historical documentaries and history books, but adds that layer of dread and intimacy that many of us don't experience through two young boys who were tasked with an impossible mission with all the kinds of danger and risk yet they took it anyway because they wanted to serve queen and country and one of them has a personal stake to it - saving his brother who is part of the battalion they are trying to save. MacKay and Chapman give the best performances of their lives in this gritty war flick, and Mendes enhances the experience even further by casting some more A-List actors such as Colin Firth, Richard Madden, Mark Strong, and Benedict Cumberbatch. You have to see the film yourselves to know what their roles are, and that "One Take" styled cinematography only makes you compelled to see things through without blinking or missing a scene.
Nominated for ten awards at this year's Academy Awards, 1917 will definitely pull you in and make you feel how it was to live in such a delicate and tumultuous era - where nations fought and couldn't understand one another and the war cost many, many lives in the process. History has chronicled these events and inspired films to teach us how things were over a hundred years ago so new generations can learn from them. Sam Mendes just took it up a notch and made this a compelling feature that is worthy of "Best Picture".
"1917" will show in Philippine theaters starting February 5 c/o UIP Movies PH through Columbia Pictures Philippines.
Rating - 5/5
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