Crossing the river, thousands of hibiscus blooms?--? Film review of "1917"

One of the best movies of 2019 is the World War I movie "1917". The film won Best Picture - Drama at the Golden Globe Awards earlier this year. The film received 10 nominations at this year's Oscars, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Cinematography, following "Joker" which received 11 nominations. However, it still lost to the Korean film "Parasite" in the final competition for best picture. It only won three technical awards for best photography, best visual effects, and best sound mixing.

The director of this film, Sam Mendes, won the 2000 Academy Award for Best Director for "American Beauty". It is a pity that he did not win this award again for "1917" 20 years later. The film originated from a story Mendes heard from his grandfather when he was a child. Mendez's grandfather was a writer who served as a British messenger on the Western Front during World War I. One of Mendes's goals in turning this story into a movie was also to honor his grandfather.

Mendes said this is a story about a messenger (It's the story of a messenger who has a message to carry.). The story takes place in 1917, at the height of the First World War. Two 16-year-old British soldiers, Blake and Schofield, were ordered to deliver a message to the commander of a nearby unit of 1,600 men to "stop the attack immediately" because the enemy had laid a trap there. This message must be delivered within 8 hours before the attack can be launched. Blake's brother is in that army, so Blake is chosen for this mission. Blake chose his good friend Schofield to go with him. The entire film is about how they accomplished this task.

This film uses a one-shot shooting technique, as if the picture has never been interrupted, giving people an immersive feeling. Regarding innovation on the technical level, you can see it in many other film reviews. What this article wants to explore is the theme of this film and what I see the director trying to express to the audience through certain details.

This is a film about faith. The first scene at the beginning of the film shows the two male protagonists in a meadow full of wild flowers. Blake was lying down and Schofield was sitting against a tree. Someone came over and told Blake that the commander wanted to see you for something and asked you to bring a comrade with him. So Blake called Schofield to see the commander. The commander explained to them the mission of reporting the message and they set off immediately. Blake died in the process of completing his mission. Schofield went through many difficulties and dangers and finally completed the task. The last scene of the film echoes the opening scene. It is still a meadow, but there are no wildflowers, only foxtail grass. Schofield was still sitting against the tree, remembering his fallen comrades in the sunset.

Director Mendes used flowers to symbolize Blake. Blake looks pretty. There is a scene in the film where the two men reach the end of the trench and have to climb out of it via a ladder. Blake was about to climb up when Schofield stopped him and said "Age before Beauty." It means "You pretty boy, stand back and let me go first." There is also a scene where the two of them were on their way to report the news. Blake saw cherry blossoms while walking, forgetting that they were on a battlefield, and ran over to smell them. There are no flowers on the grass in the final scene of the film because Blake has died.

Mendes is good at using flowers as symbols. In "American Beauty", he uses roses to symbolize beauty. A very classic image is of the heroine lying naked in a sea of ??rose petals. The apparent perfection of the roses contrasts sharply with the underlying imperfections of middle-class American life.

Mendes used trees to symbolize Schofield or the beliefs that Schofield held. At the beginning and end of the film, Schofield is sitting against a tree. Another scene shows Schofield being chased by the enemy. He panics and jumps into the river. Being swept through rapids and down waterfalls. Schofield hugged a tree trunk and lay on his back in the water, watching the cherry blossoms slowly drift down from the trees by the river.

Crossing the river, there are thousands of hibiscus flowers.

This is probably the most important scene in the film. It can be said that the tree represents the beliefs held by Schofield, and the cherry blossoms represent Schofield's longing and responsibility for Blake. It is these beliefs and responsibilities that support Schofield and enable him to overcome hardships and finally complete the task.

In fact, Schofield and Blake are both ordinary people at the beginning of the film. When Schofield was almost killed during a mission, he even complained to Blake: "Why did you choose me to accompany you on this mission? Aren't you cheating on me?" Blake felt aggrieved: "I didn't know it was such a mission. I I thought they were asking us to carry canned food to the rear, so we could sneak some food while we were walking.

"When Blake died, Schofield held Blake's body. At this time, Schofield's emotions were sublimated, and he changed from an ordinary person to a hero who "even though thousands of people have passed away".

Finally, Schofield found the troops he was looking for. He wanted to go to the commander, but there were too many people in the trench. At this time, the attack horn had sounded, and the soldiers jumped out of the trench and rushed forward. When he got out of the trench, facing the hail of bullets, he didn't rush forward, but ran sideways in the direction of the commander. As he ran, he was hit by his comrades, got up and ran, was knocked down again, and got up again.

He is a messenger. He is a rebel. He knows that the lives of his comrades are being threatened and he will use all his strength to stop and save his comrades.

Finally, he succeeded!

This article would like to pay tribute to the messengers and rebels!