1917 has been depicted in such a way that it feels like you are also present in the war zone as a viewer.

Rating: 8/10 (11 January 2020)

1917 is a new war drama directed, partly written and produced by Sam Mendes, the director of American Beauty and Skyfall.
The film is set during the First World War where the two British soldiers Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Schofield (George Mackay) are sent on an important and dangerous mission. They must alert the British troops of 1,600 soldiers, among which Blake his brother before they attack and thus fall into a deadly hostile trap. The two must travel through friendly and enemy trenches for this mission, but also through the dreaded no man's land filled with war victims, damage and deadly booby traps.
Director Sam Mendes, together with photography director Roger Deakins, visualized and edited the film in such a way that it appears as if the film was only shot in a long scene. This way of filming was also done by Alejandro G. Iñàrritu with his Oscar winning film Birdman. The cameras film the entire film around the characters. The various cameras are held by the hand for filming, on cars or via iron rods and wires concentrated on the characters. This way of filming makes it feel like you are also present as a third soldier as a viewer during this mission in the war. As a viewer, you also want to look around to see if you see any dangers such as barbed wire, bomb wires or mines. This creates extra excitement and intense moments, because just like the characters you are in unknown hostile territory. You also do not know that when you see others at a far distance, whether they are friendly or hostile soldiers. Because of the way they put this film together, they show how bad a war and its consequences are.
The film location and the attributes on the film set also help well with the realistic transfer of the film. No man's land is filled with war victims, their animals, used ammunition and hidden booby traps. Because of the way they were filmed, they were also dependent on natural light and weather. Because of this, they needed more time when filming, because they had to wait until the sunlight was out or in the right place.
The acting is done well by the two main players. As a viewer you do not know too much about them, but you still care about them and their important mission and hope that they do not get themselves in danger. Dean-Charles Chapman and George Mackay are also not such well-known actors, but they still know how to deliver good and fitting acting in this film. Major actors such as Benedict Cumberbatch, Mark Strong and Colin Firth play more smaller roles in this film, but they are important roles.