Review of 1917 (2019) by Moviemitch96 — 11 Jan 2020

A jaw-dropping and undeniably impressive achievement! This film is set in the midst of World War I in France, and follows two young British soldiers tasked with hand-delivering a message to their 2nd battalion that warns them to call off a planned attack that will lure them into an ambush set by the Germans.

First off, what truly makes this film stand out is the nifty cinematography technique it employs. The film is 2 hours long, and it's filmed and edited to appear like one long continuous 2-hour shot (not unlike the best picture Oscar-winning film 'Birdman' from 5 years ago.

) We literally follow these two young soldiers in real time from start to finish, with no cuts in between, adding to the film an even bigger sense of realism. But even setting aside this impressive technique, the cinematography is absolutely gorgeous, and if this film deserves an Oscar for anything, it's the impeccable camerawork! Other great highlights of the film include its majestic musical score, as well as the acting from the two young soldiers, who make you feel like you're right in the middle of war with them with their realistic fear and performances.

There were a couple of moments and stretches where the pacing slows down a bit much, but the one-take appearance does a solid job of making up for this and helped me stay fixated and invested in everything happening, and there was definitely a fair share of tense moments throughout too.

Overall, it's undoubtedly a grand and truly unique war film, and one of the most harrowing and memorable ones I've seen in quite some time.