Life on the Front Lines: The Realism of '1917'
By Eryn Swann
Screen capture of 1917, courtesy of FilmGrab
Sam Mendes’ 1917, released in 2019, is a World War I epic that tells the story of two young soldiers who brave the perils of No Man’s Land in the hopes that they can save hundreds of their own men before they meet an untimely fate.
Of all the war films I have seen in my life, 1917 is the second most realistic (after Saving Private Ryan!) and impactful, in my opinion due to the striking effects, intelligent direction and artistic decisions made to emulate the brutality of the front lines. The most talked about effect, prior to and after the release of the film, was the ever challenging ‘one shot’ take. While the film was not, in fact, filmed in one shot, the clever use of the camera tracking and timing created the illusion that the film does just that.
This technique proved to be most ground-breaking for this film genre through which the audience can feel immersed in the most simplistic events while following the protagonists as they navigate their way through the trenches and the countryside. A majority of the tracking shots follow behind the two soldiers to create the feeling that we, the audience, are walking right behind them and sometimes, alongside them — that we too are experiencing the same movements as them, through their interactions with other characters when the camera pans so we are able to see who is talking to whom and show us what we are meant to be focused on. Mendes makes the audience pay attention to specific scenes — every moment is important because there is very little time to relax in war.
The audience is meant to be uncomfortable, and it feels as if we are running through every scene on adrenaline, mentally preparing for the unexpected and developing our own fast-paced strategies for the inevitable as are our protagonists. This is further heightened by the lack of sound in specific scenes in which the protagonists discover new and untrustworthy things or places to craft tension that tells us what we should and should not trust. By doing so, Mendes instils a sense of urgency in the agonising desire to avoid dangerous uncertainty as we helplessly watch the events unfold.
The ingenuity of the ‘single shot’ effect is eventually tested with the perfect transition from day to night as dusk-lit ruins become enveloped by the blackness of a quick-fired shot and the protagonist wakes up to a night sky — the backdrop of a leveled, burning city. The only lighting used for us to continue following our lead comes from sniper fire and cannons as he searches for sanctuary amongst the ruins. In addition to the editing of the camera work, the cinematography by the legendary Roger Deakins, is extraordinary. Due to the nature of the film, all the landscapes — from the battlefields to the depicted casualties of farmlands and former cityscapes — are shown through wide shots to mimic how we would see these areas with our own eyes.
Unlike in previous war films where dialogue helps the audience better understand and feel for integral characters, 1917 employs very little dialogue. This deliberate choice may instead be intended for the moral implication that any war involves the sacrifice of many individuals, mostly unknown to us, of which may precisely be the point (similar to that of Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk). The soldiers we are following could be anyone. It does not have to be someone of great importance or someone that has fought valiantly and hence, acquired great notoriety. The title itself perfectly encapsulates that — that this is not a story about any one individual but one aspect of the beginning of The Great War when many young people sacrificed their lives in the name of their country and lived on solely in the memory of their family and friends. The lack of character development allows the audience to determine for themselves what kind of men we are following and come to our own conclusions about their role and purpose among thousands of men alongside them.
1917 is an incredibly realistic film for these reasons and I personally think that in modern storytelling of past events that is necessary. By depicting war in the most realistic format achievable, it truly demonstrates the harsh, unfair, and unforgiving nature of the reality of ordinary people on both sides who fight for and give their lives on behalf of the safety of the civilians they represent. ◆
