‘1917’ (2019) Review
'1917' (2019) Review: A Walk Through Hell From the moment I first saw the trailer for Sam Mendes’ 1917, I was intrigued. In it, the main character is running towards the camera and suddenly the film is cropped to only be seen through the text “1917”. It was a neat trick of editing that drew my attention, and could easily be regarded as a gimmick with no real substance. A pointless trick. Unlike the film, which employs a “one-shot” technique that is no gimmick, but instead an artistic decision that serves the film tremendously1917 was not in fact shot in one take, but is a carefully constructed collection of takes made to look like one. The story follows two soldiers in The Great War as they trek across enemy territory to deliver a secret message to their fellow brothers in arms. From the get go the one thing that’s made abundantly clear is that time is of the essence. Which is what makes 1917’s filmmaking so intrinsic to the tale.Most films are made up of cuts from scene to scene. Time passes, and the viewer is left to estimate just how much. Typically with the help of dialogue or a glance at the timer counting down until a bomb explodes. With this film however you’re locked into the journey in real time. You will be reminded of this with clever tricks, such as a plane disappearing and reappearing in the background, or…