Stirring WWI film, deeply affecting and quietly anguished

Rating: 10/10 (30 December 2019)

A war that is now a century old (and therefore no longer widely understood) is vividly captured in this stunning dramatization by Sam Mendes. It portrays the journey of two British infantrymen who are tasked with the near-impossible assignment of alerting another unit of an approaching trap. The one-take film focuses on their grueling slog across no-man's land to the other unit's location. Along the way, their path encounters many instances of danger and surprise.
Not always easy on the senses- in fact rarely so- this film gives one a first-person perspective on how hellish and miserable this war was. And although the story is about this particular conflict, one gets the sense that many of the realities of war in this film are still applicable today, a century later. That's what makes this such a startling film experience. As for Roger Deakins' cinematography, it is every bit as breathtaking as one would anticipate from him. Highly recommended to those who are familiar with this part of history and to anyone who has served in combat and who would know the horrors that are portrayed here. And recommended to everyone else.