Absolutely triumphant

Rating: 9/10 (15 April 2020)

The best word I would use to describe this film is mighty. But also it's a wild ride of emotions all throughout. The cinematography is most certainly the best of this year with only 1 true cut in the middle of the movie, the entire thing is pretty much filmed in a way to make it seem like one continuous shot. I thought that might've given it a pacing problem since you'd have to be with the characters every minute of their journey, but damn it does a good job of keeping you on your toes. Every single minute of this film is put into something worthwhile, from the scenes where characters are in extreme danger, to more calming moments of peace in between peril, to the most emotional parts of the film which for me was around the 45 minute mark and also at the very end of the film. There are two very impactful parts in 1917 that really show the reality and unexpectedness of war and it makes the film so much more realistic and heartbreaking. The music is loud and excellent and it does a very similar thing to Dunkirk where it uses its volume to its advantage and it can up the emotion, terror or triumph with the score. My favourite scene in the entire movie is when Schofield is running along the front lines as the score is at its loudest, it gave me the biggest goosebumps I've had in a while and it was the moment I decided that 1917 was most definitely triumphant. It turns what seems like a small adventure into the most large scale and mighty movie I've seen from last year. It was just undoubtedly all parts awesome, emotional and terrifying and it's one of the best war movies I've ever seen and it even rivals Saving Private Ryan. It was so damn good it's been bumped up to number 4 on my top 10 of the year. It definitely deserved best Cinematography and Sound Mixing. And I do feel it deserved best visual effects too because there wasn't one moment where CGI took me out of it, the entire thing felt real and extremely damn immersive. I haven't been so invested in a movie for a while, truly a triumph of cinema and it's not something I'll forget easily.