THERE'S NO HONOR IN WAR

Rating: 10/10 (25 January 2020)

As Michael Scott writes in his book The Enchantress, "There was no honor in war, less in killing, and none in dying. But there was true dignity in how men comported themselves in battle. And there was always honor to be found in standing for a just cause and defending the defenseless", the drama war movie 1917 perfectly illustrates this quote and depicts the horrifying struggle for survival in the First World War.
The film opens with a calm scene from which we're directly introduced to the protagonists who are about to find out the "heroic" mission assigned to them. The camera cleverly moves along the trenches first in front of the two soldiers then behind them without a single cut, creating a war game like atmosphere, placing the watcher among them as the third man. Roger Deakins who has proved to be a master of cinematography makes good use of the shadows to obtain a continuous shot as the two comrades receive their orders and begin their race against the time.
Throughout the film Deakins makes use of numerous procedures and tricks as cameras on scouters or drones and props that can be moved or disassembled to create the feeling that the film is a continuous shot filmed by a single camera much like the 2015 Oscar winning picture Birdman or Gaspar Noe's films: Irreversible and Enter the Void.
As the two boys prepare themselves to cross the no man's land an unsettling feeling captures their faces, the same terror seen on the eyes of the men covered in soaking wet uniforms, crouched in the cold, muddy ditches.
The music score beautifully written by Thomas Newman builds an incredible thrilling suspense that slowly grows with the ongoing mission and keeps you at the edge of your seat throughout the entire movie creating a parallel to Nolan's Second World Word masterpiece, Dunkirk.
The images of the young lads crossing this muddy fields as the rats rattle and stroll besides their feet in searching for dead corpses to eat, combined with a tense music gives you a cold shiver down the spine. In this moment one realizes how brutal and senseless war really is for the common infantry soldiers who must follow any order given by their superiors.
Finally, they reach the enemy's trenches just to see them destroyed and abandoned. Along the way to the Second Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment there are multiple impediments that Germans make sure to leave behind their retreat such as planted bombs in the bunker in the scope of burring them alive, destroyed artillery that cannot be used, trees that are blocking the roads, destroyed bridges or even dead cows.
The garden of blossomed cherries cut down is a metaphor on death which is coming to cut short the life of a man in his prime. Blake and Scofield find themselves at an abandoned farm where after a two versus one plane fight, they save the German pilot's live by pulling him out of the burning plane. The pilot cowardly stabs Blake in the guts and then dies as he takes two shots from Scofield. The young boy who without any hesitation rushed to deliver the message in hope he'll save his brother lays now on the cold earth with blood gushing through the fingers of Corporal Scofield who tries to comfort him.
Later in the film the same flower petals technique is used to depict the eminent approaching death who's after the lives of young men in the Second Battalion.
Scofield is determined to continue the mission alone and after some struggles, he reaches the small town of Écoust-Saint-Mein as instructed. He encounters a young German and after sparing he's life he finds himself in the posture of running to save his own.
On the scene of the night in Écoust, Deakins shows us once more why he's a virtuoso of his craft perfectly shooting a long chasing scene in the dense and dark night that is shattered from time to time just by the flares of the enemy.
The corporal miraculously escapes by jumping into a river that eventually will lead him to the Second Deavons. Exhausted after all the challenges encountered on his journey, he almost drowns but somehow finds the strength to swim and climb over the dead, swollen and disfigured bodies washed ashore.
Singing in the Croisilles Woods is a symbolic and very powerful scene that shows stunted, marbled faces looking at a young man who sings a song before they're supposed to follow orders and go blind into war. The song refers to their mothers, their fathers and home and the main idea is that men do not fight for motherland or honor or some cheap metal object with a ribbon that is equivalent to a wine bottle, they fight to stay alive one more day and hope to make it home in one piece to see the loved ones.
In the end Corporal Scofield must run along the battlefield bypassing the flying bombshells and avoiding the brave men who have no chance of triumph, to reach general McKenzie and to stop the attack immediately.
The chaos is choreographed with great talent by Mendes and Deakins who used extras, special cranes and cameras attached to a car to film the emphatic run of the main character.
Although the Lance Corporal succeeds in his mission, we're left with the sorrowful contemplative words of what it looks like an experienced Colonel MacKenzie, "There's only one way this war ends. Last man standing".
In the end Scofield strolls in the medical camp through injured men who grunt form unsupportable pain in the hope of finding Blake's brother making this rescue mission to feel like a Saving Private Ryan story, only now the action is taking place in the First World War.
In conclusion the film 1917 is a well-done braiding between great directorial vision, intelligent cinematographic means, thrilling music score and prominent acting that portray the horrors the world has seen in the darkest hour. In these times honor and justice are just two simple words, medals and decorations are worthless as Lieutenant Leslie says with contempt "nothing like a scrap of ribbon to cheer up a widow".