"1917" Movie Review

by John Zenoni

‘1917’ is one of those films that I knew I just had to see as soon as I saw the trailer. With that being said, I had very high hopes for it and I was not disappointed. Yes, it is a very good film. Now, with that being said, should this be the winner of Best Picture at the Oscars? I'll get to that in a moment.

The one-shot concept I'd heard about definitely added to my curiosity about the film and how it was going to turn out. Well it is amazing! I will say that I kept consciously watching during the film to see if it was really going to be a one-shot film and so from that perspective it took my attention away just a little bit from just focusing on the story.

The film is set during WW I where two British soldiers are given orders to cross over into enemy territory to deliver a message to the commander to stop fellow troops from going to battle as it was a setup that could result in the loss of over 1,600 men, including the brother of one of the soldiers.

The first thing I'll comment on is the scenery. Absolutely stunning considering that the majority of the film is set in foxholes. But there are moments when the soldiers cross over into beautiful country and hillsides. Being in the foxholes and seeing what the soldiers go through and live in on a daily basis is critical to the film as well and makes you feel like you are in battle yourself. I'm sure that the film will at least win the Oscar for cinematography.

The acting is top-notch, including that of Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch, even though they only have short scenes in the film. But the two actors who portray the British soldiers obviously steal the show.

The story-line is definitely intriguing and you feel the sense of urgency that the soldiers make it on time before the other unit is ambushed. It's a nail-biting mission and you just hope they make it.

Now while the film is very good, I couldn't help but thinking that I'd already seen an amazing (and better) WWI film the previous year from Peter Jackson, ‘They Shall Not Grow Old’, and I was comparing this to ‘Saving Private Ryan’, the film by which all war films are measured now.

With these reasons above, I just don’t think it is the better or original film to take top honors at the Oscars. It definitely should have been nominated but there is another film that I hope will come away the big winner.