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Page B—8 - Shelton—Mason County Journal - Thursday, Jan. 16, 2020
MOVIE
‘1917’ immerses in gauntlet of horrors of War
Gene Siskel for the Tri-
bune, French film director Francois
Trufi'aut famously asserted that even
In a 1973 interview with film critic
films which claim to be “anti-war” in-
stead wind up being “pro-war,” a sen-
timent he expanded upon in 1999’s
“Truffaut: A Biography” by stating that
“to show something is to ennoble it.”
While British film director Sam
Mendes does portray the enlisted mili-
tary protagonists of his World War I
film “1917” as noble in their intentions
' and perseverance,
there is no nobility
Sisyphean ordeals
and consequences
wrought by the war
in which they fight.
Indeed, several of
their fellow troops
are shown pointing
out the futility- of a
ByKIRK ,
BOXLEITNER conflict which forces
armies to destroy
their own weapons,
fortifications, land and livestock-in re-
treat, simply so that their enemies will
be denied the use of those resources.
Even without employing 3-D or
IMAX footage, Mendes delivers a fully
immersive film, by tasking cinematog-
rapher Roger Deakins with capturing
absurdly extended takes, with virtually
seamless breaks, to make the entire
two-hour film appear as one long, con-
tinuous shot.
It’s a far less showy, but no less im-
pressive, technical feat than the hand-
painted animation of 2017’s “Loving
Vincent,” but while I felt that film’s
impressive visuals upstaged its strictly
middling storytelling content, the sin-
gle-camera perspective of “1917” fits
hand-in-glove with the relentless pace
and ever-present horrors Mendes .in-
tends his audience to feel, as close to
firsthand as possible.
Two young British soldiers, Schofield
(George MacKay) and Blake (Dean-
Charles Chapman), are sent marching
across France, on foot, to hand-deliver
a message to call off an attack on Ger-
to be found in the ‘
In spite of its impressive cast, the viSuals are the true stars of Sam
Mendes’ “1917,” which puts the viewer on the
front lines of World War I. Courtesy photo
man forces who appear to be in retreat.
If the two soldiers fail to deliver their
letter by the next mornkig, 1,600 'of
their fellow British troops, including
Blake’s brother, will be ambushed and
killed.
r “1917” boasts no shortage of big-
name British actors in its, cast, from
Mark Strong and Richard Madden to
Colin Firth and Benedict Cumberbatch,
but they’re all glorified cameos in a film
that’s dominated by the oppressive con-
ditions of its, war-torn environment,
and humanized by the ever-escalating
shell-shock of its would-be messenger
boys.
One of the black-humored jokes of
the “M*A*S*H” TV show that actually
lived up to the movie was the observa-
tion that war is not just Hell, but is
.
literally worse than Hell, because at
least there are no innocent bystanders
in Hell.
Mendes takes that train of thought
a bit further, showing us a glimpse of
those caught in the crossfire, as well as
illustrating how a moment of compas-
sion can be damning on the battlefield,
andalso by going into inescapable de-
tail about just how awful those battle-
fields were, complete with muddy cra-
ters overflowing with bloated corpses
and fattened rats.
Mendes was inspired to co-write
the screenplay for “1917,” with Krysty
Wilson-Cairns, by his grandfather, the
novelist and veteran Alfred Mendes,
who not only went on a wartime mes-
senger mission similar to the duo in
“1917,” but also developed a compul-
In
sive hand—washing habit as a result of
all the foul things he had to lay hands
on in_the trenches.
Especially after seeing one particu-
lar scene, set in “No Man’s Land,” I un-
derstand the elder Mendes’ compulsion
very well. ‘
“1917” has already been recom- .
mended for an Oscar nomination for
, Best Picture. While it faces some solid
competitiOn on that score, if Deak-
ins doesn’t take home an Oscar for
Best Cinematography, then he’s being
robbed. r g
I Kirk Boxleitner is arts editor for the
Port Townsend & Jefferson County
Leader, the Shelton-Mason County
Journal’s sister paper. He can be
reached at kboxleitner@ptleader.com.
uAnsnME Mews V
Looking forward to fresh snow —— but nOt driving in it x .
hecking the weather
reports, it looks like
our unseason-
ably-warm weather
is about to change.
If all is correct you
will have waded out '
through'some snow to
get this paper. Some“
of the most beautiful
pictures of our home
and I’m guessing your "
home, were taken just By MIKE
after a fresh snow
storm. I’m looking
forward to seeing
those little white ice crystals
create a winter wonderland
:nwmmmww
and for our dog find his
youthful-energy and romp
CALLAGHAN
a mile from the bridge up
Pickering about 1mm miles
through it and for us
to build that child-
hood snowman, but
I’m not looking for-
ward to driving in it.
Starting Monday Thursdays. can bring them along too.
Winter yoga classes The next Senior Lunch The all—volunteer group of ,
move from the will be held on Wednes- cooks gather the food and
community hall to
instructor Jennifer
Rosendale’s yurt at
670 E. Strong Road.
Strong Road is off
the island about
towards Spencer Lake. It
promises to be a warmer
and cozier experience as she
offers therapeutic classes.
, good for all ages. Again,
classes will be at 8:30 am.
every week on Tuesdays and
day. They will be serving
meatloaf, mashed potatoes
and gravy, mixed veggies
and for dessert,
ding. Wow, that sounds like
my kind of lunch. I’ve had
their meatloaf before and it
is Wonderful. If you would
bread pud—
like to take part and eat, be-
at the community hall just
a little before noon. All who
‘ live in the Pioneer School
District and are over 50 are
invited. Oh, and if you have ’
a friend who is visiting, you
prepare it for you. All they
ask is for a small donation
of $4 to cover the cost of the
food that was bought for the
lunch. The Senior Lunch
program started as a incen-
tive for the community to get
together and get to know one
another a little better.
The 2020 Inquiring Minds
program is revving up. The
first program 'will be held
_on Jan. 26: They take place
in our beautiful 106-year—
old community ball. This
month’s speaker will be
FeliksBanel. His topic will
'be extreme weather. After
seeing the news reports on
the devastating fires in Aus-
tralia, I would think this
Will be a yery important and
informative program.
I Mike Callaghan can be
reached at sobadog@msn.com.
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