1917 - My Great Uncle

Rating: 7/10 (7 February 2020)

My Great Uncle, Rifleman William Phillips R5080, was a member of the same Battalion as Sam Mendes's grandfather, to whom the film is dedicated, the 1st Battalion, the King's Royal Rifle Corps. Unlike Sam's grandfather, William was killed in action and did not survive to tell his stories or have a family. This was 17 February 1917, about 2 months before the film is set, and he was buried in a shell hole where, so far as we know, he remains today. He was one of the 73000 who remain unidentified. However, to commemorate the centenary of William's death, I travelled to the Somme, to Miraumont where William was killed. Before doing so I extensively researched the King's Royal Rifle Corps. I read the Battalion War diary and countless books on the action in which my great uncle was killed. While I do not wish to challenge any of the stories on which this film is based, I do have a couple of observations. The action in which William was killed was described as the worst going for infantry in the whole Somme campaign. This may not have applied in April, but the few photographs that exist show a terrain far worse than the film describes. The mud was knee deep and completely littered with line after line of barbed wire and layered trenches. By comparison 1917, while muddy up to a point, gives the impression of a country walk. I do not understand why what is obviously a dry dock was used to play the part of a river, nor can I find white water rapids anywhere in Northern France, still less a large waterfall. I'm afraid that for me this detracts from the authenticity of the film. As a piece of theatre it is a good film, but as a tribute to the actual conditions that soldiers faced, it is an understatement.