Remarkable war movie

Rating: 9/10 (2 February 2020)

The storyline about delivering an important message to avoid a massacre is deceptively simple. Blake and Scholfield, two corporals, must go through dangerous territory to reach the battalion where Blake's brother is serving, to avoid 1600 soldiers falling into a German trap.
The two embark into a nightmarish mission, during which they both will prove to be outstanding human beings.
The tension is palpable throughout their journey, and since they're both nice people, you really feel for them and hope they're going to make it. Nowadays it is increasingly rare to see sympathetic main characters on screen. For that reason only, this movie is a step ahead of all the pretentious ones that patronise their audience.
Besides, even if the devastating effects of war are visible and plenty of corpses are scattered on the battlefield, the camera never lingers for cheap shots of horrifying, voyeuristic thrills. Again, a major difference with lots of other war and crime movies.
Really hoping that for once and after years of delivering Oscars to politically correct mush, this one will win the well deserved prize.