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Writer's pictureAmruta

Hot take: 1917

Updated: Jan 13, 2021


'1917', director Sam Mendes' latest war drama is above all a technical and technological feat. The storyline is slim—two low-ranking corporals are tasked with carrying an important message across enemy territory to halt an impending disaster—but in this spectacle of a film, the tale is in the telling. Shot to seem like a single, unbroken tracking shot that tags along with these two men on their suicide mission, there is no denying the cinematographic payoff of being plunged into the action first-hand. At its best, the film brings home the visceral stench of rotting flesh, pervasive rats and the literal gore of war without ever making the viewer feel squeamish. At its worst, it can feel like a video game whose stakes do not feel quite as high as they actually are. A lot depends on what mood you go in with.


The main drawback with the film is that its emotional content can be quite gimmicky. Apart from the two main characters whom we become invested in, the other key moments—an encounter with a young mother and infant in a bunker, a soldier singing a song in the wood—do hit a false note because they seem like they are just dropped in to elicit a few tears.


What does work though, is the gripping suspense, the jaw-dropping camerawork and stellar performances by the leads George MacKay and Dean-Charles Chapman, who play their parts with unassuming grace. A range of famous actors (Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch, to name a few) play cameos, but your eyes stay on Lance Corporal Schofield throughout. In him, 1917 gives us a cynical hero who continues to do his duty as a soldier despite being deeply aware of the futility of war. Bonus points for including soldiers of Indian and African origin, whose contributions and sacrifices to the two world wars have long been overlooked in cinema.


If you want to watch this one, do opt for a big screen so you can get the full benefit of the immersive experience.


Genre: War, Drama

Language: English

Runtime: 1h 59min

Year of release: 2020

Streaming Platform: Amazon Prime Video

Hot take is a series in which I offer my first impressions of films from India and around the world.

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