Review of 1917 (2019)

Moving picture, 119 minutes

Seen in 2021.

Two lance corporals attempt to reach another division to warn them about Operation Alberich.

Laborious digital masking and compositing make it a fool’s game to spot the cuts in modern long-take cinema. This also reduces the impact of long takes as a stunt or a tool of suspense, but it develops their artistic impact in other dimensions.

Militarily, there are frequent plot holes, including the second wave charging over pristine grass without artillery support, while supposedly miles behind another enemy line. However, from the snippet of Kipling to the Come and See-like accumulation of crosses to bear, this is a winner, and not in Kipling’s sense.

moving picture fiction