1917 occurs in France during World War 1 on the Western Front. Lance Cpl. Schofield and Lance Cpl. Blake are to make it through enemy territory to deliver a message to prevent the deaths of 1,600 soldiers, one of which is Lance Cpl. Blake’s brother.
It is absolutely beautiful and goes out of its way with its cinematography to make you notice. The movie puts you into the trenches with the British soldiers, it makes you feel like you were right there when it happened – like you’re a part of the story.
Sam Mendes, who got an Oscar nomination for directing this movie, did an amazing job. This movie was inspired on the stories of soldiers such as Sam Mendes’ grandfather. 1917 leaves you sitting at the edge of your seat. The most intense scenes have music that adds to the nerve-wracking nature of the movie. And, even then, these scenes are so beautiful. The lighting is beautiful in every scene and it’s so beautiful you almost want to cry.
As an American, I really appreciate seeing this new side of World War 1 that isn’t all about America saving the day. The movie tends to differ from the American view of World War 1. The movie coincidentally starts on April 6th which is the day the Americans entered the war, but there are no American soldiers in this movie.

They even have a scene in which they have Sikh soldiers in the background of a scene. About 130,000 Sikh men fought as well. They have 2 Sikh soldiers in the whole movie, which some saw as upsetting considering the amount of Sikh soldiers there actually were in the British Indian Army. But, in my non Sikh opinion, I thought the representation in the movie was great. There weren’t that many characters in this movie to begin with, so they couldn’t have possibly added as many soldiers as some wish they could’ve.
Some also may not approve of this movie’s positive nature. While there are terribly heartbreaking moments during this movie, it’s overall a valiant tale that some may not like due to the story being taking place during such a war. World War 1, to be specific, which was a complete bloodbath compared to other wars of that time. World War 1 was the first war of its kind and led to entirely new ways of fighting and entirely new and gruesome deaths. An estimated 40 million people died, both military and civilian. There was the creation of trench warfare and mustard gas and countries, such as France, were completely destroyed. World War 1 also resulted in the second World War, which had an even worse death toll. That being said, this movie isn’t a documentary about how horrible the war was, nor is it about the entirety of the war. It’s about one specific, heroic story.
At the end of the day, I really did love this movie. There were only tiny plot holes that really didn’t affect my viewing. The 10 Oscar nominations it’s received are totally deserved and, I really loved the story and everything about this movie. It’s a story that makes you feel good and anyone who loves WW1 or Heroic tales.

My Overall Rating: 90%

Rotten Tomatoes Rating: 89%