The Loneliness, Violence, & Existentialism of War.

Kaleidoscope's latest is on DreamWorks & Universal's production of "1917".  Directed & co-written by Sam Mendes, the movie stars George MacKay, Dean-Charles Chapman, Colin Firth, & Benedict Cumberbatch.  Rated 'R', it has a running time of 1 hr., 59 min.

The setting is April 1917 in northern France.The Germans have seemingly retreated from an area in the Western Front.  Two soldiers Lance Corporal Blake (Chapman) & Lance Corporal Scofield (MacKay) have been summoned into the bunker of General Erinmoore (Firth).  The latter explains that aerial intelligence has discovered that the Germans have not truly retreated; they have set up a clandestine withdrawal to their new Hindenburg Line.  Because their battalion's field telephone lines have been cut, the 2 corporals are ordered to deliver by hand a message to the 2nd Battalion of the Devonshire Regiment to call off its planned attack on the Germans, since it may cost the lives of 1,600 British soldiers, or more--including Blake's brother.  The long 2nd act begins here & to describe more would be to reveal too many spoilers.

Mendes has created an outstanding film that takes an epic journey set against the vast expanse of WWI & transforms it into an intimate voyage into both war's heart of darkness & man's triumph over seemingly insurmountable odds.  The primary way in which Mendes has accomplished this is to film the entire movie as one continuous take.  On hearing this before seeing the film, one imagines it as a marketing gimmick.  However, nothing could be further from the truth.  Because the camera never takes its lens from the 2 principals, the viewer imagines that he/she is right there participating in the pains & fears of the 2 soldiers.  This becomes a shared emotional, riveting, personal, & sensate experience with Schofield & Blake.  The other successful use of the single tracking shot that this reviewer recalls is in Hitchcock's 1948 "Rope" based on the Leopold & Loeb murders.  Not bad company for Mendes.  The screenplay. co-written by Mendes & Krysty Wilson-Cairns, is partly based on an account given to Mendes by his paternal grandfather Alfred Mendes.  This personal telling further explains the film's overall intimacy & verisimilitude.  The dialogue, situations, & interactions of the characters are believable throughout.  Just as with Erich Maria Remarque's 1929 seminal war novel of WW1, "All Quiet on the Western Front", "1917" deals with the existential dilemmas presented by a war environment where the choices that one faces invariably lead either to frustration or a temporary feeling of success that can dramatically alter in an instant.  Before leaving the script, there is a further reference to Hitchcock with even a "Psycho"-type moment when the movie's perspective dramatically changes.  The acting is superlative.  Little known actors Chapman & MacKay are first-rate as the 2 soldiers who set out against all odds to complete their "Saving Private Ryan"-like mission.  Their fears, courage, & drive are palpable at all times.  The supporting cast, especially Firth & Cumberbatch in their cameos, is excellent throughout.  The score by Thomas Newman (of the celebrated Newman composing family headed by his father Alfred & cousin Randy) has composed a sensitive, driving, complicated score that hopefully will earn him his first Oscar after having been nominated 15 times without a win.  In a similar vein, Roger Deakins's cinematography is rich in setting, sensation, & the horrors of war.  After having been nominated 14 times for an Oscar, he finally earned his 1st with 2018's "Blade Runner 2049".  Let's hope that his new nomination for this film earns him his 2nd.  His work with editor Lee Smith here is spectacular.

I give "1917" 9 out of 10 nuggets.  It has been nominated for 10 Oscars (2nd to "Joker"'s 11) and deserves to win them all; these would go with the movie's 3 Golden Globes.  It is a superb, intimate, epic look at man's bravery & courage coupled with the horrors & insanity of war.  Run as if you were evading a minefield to see "1917" while it is still in Imax & XL screens to see & experience it in its best environment.