A great war film

Rating: 8/10 (18 January 2020)

Following a pair of young soldiers Blake and Schofield, attempting to carry out the impossibly tall order to deliver in person a message across no man's land, through trenches reportedly abandoned by the Germans, to save 1600 Allied soldiers from obliteration by falling into the trap of attacking enemy forces believed to be weak, but in fact reinforced by the withdrawal. Blake has a strong incentive to succeed, because his brother is a Lieutenant among the 1600. Schofield has the misfortune to be chosen by Blake, because he happens to be dozing alongside when he is summoned.
The film has made the news with what is described as a "single camera shot" approach. This cannot really be the case for a two hour film covering a period of something nearer twelve hours. In fact, long shots have been skilfully joined to create a sense of continuity. The intended effect is to make one feel immersed in the experience: when Blake and Schofield force their way towards a crossing point through no man's land, pushing through a flow of men going the opposite way, the trenches feel like a dizzying maze. Similarly, the muddy struggle through a wilderness of water-filled bomb craters, the putrid carcases of horses and twisted human corpses feels done in "real time" giving the audience a virtual experience of this as close to "shellshock" as one can suffer at the cinema.
Each of the scenes are portraying a different aspect of war: the aftermath of the downing of an enemy plane, the experience of being stuck in a lorry convoy which ought to be faster than going on foot but isn't, crossing a broken bridge under sniper fire, fleeing pursuers through a devastated city lit by fires like Armageddon and so on. Those who love films of dangerous action will enjoy this.
Even when the horror is offset by something of beauty there is a sting in the tail: cherry blossom surviving on felled trees or floating on the river beside murdered villagers; a young woman in hiding caring for an orphaned baby whose name she does not know; a soldier singing a haunting spiritual for men many of whom will die later in the war, if not immediately should the message fail to reach the commander in time.
The film captures a little the horrors of war and how it made many involved weary and wishing for it all to end.