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Newspaper Archive of
Shelton Mason County Journal
Shelton, Washington
January 16, 2020     Shelton Mason County Journal
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January 16, 2020
 
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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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