3 Stars — Thought-provoking
What does it mean to offer a sacrifice? Is it a simple act of denying oneself sugar so we can lose weight? What if it means something greater such as giving up a job to satisfy the needs of your family? Or, what if it means giving up your life for something greater than yourself?
In the relative luxury of Western culture, a sacrifice today can seem like a fine-tuning of our life in order to feel better about ourselves. For those living in many Third World cultures, a sacrifice can mean so much more, including losing your own life for what you believe or say. At its deepest level, even Jesus warned his followers in the form of a question: “How do you benefit if you gain the whole world, but sacrifice your own soul?”
“1917” is an epic glimpse at a moment in World War I when thousands of young men were being asked to give the ultimate sacrifice of their own life. The film is a remarkably graphic and gruesome look at an instance when a message needed to be sent across the battlefields from one British general to a field battalion to stop an attack against the Germans. The general’s intelligence team had realized that the British were walking into a trap and, in all likelihood, the 1,600 British soldiers positioned to make the attack would all lose their lives. The general’s only hope was to send two young men across the scorched earth and through enemy territory to the field battalion commander and call off the action. These young men had only hours until the battle was to begin.
In terms of excellent filmmaking, writer and director Sam Mendes has given us scenes that are stunning, both in their graphic imagery of the misery of war, and also in the way the camera follows the main characters through the trenches without taking a break. There is a sense of realism that is captivating, and at the same time, stomach-turning in the deepening realization that these nations are sacrificing an entire generation of young men — sons and fathers — for an effort that is hard to justify.
By the end of World War I, it was estimated that 40 million people had either been killed or wounded in the battles. In addition, three global empires that had existed for hundreds of years — the Hungarian/Germanic Hapsburg Empire, the Russian Empire and the Ottoman Empire — disappeared off the face of the Earth. The defeated and destroyed German political establishment and economy smoldered for another 10 years and gave rise to Adolf Hitler’s regime of terror. A mere 22 years later, the world war continued again from 1939 to 1945 with another 70 million to 85 million souls lost or wounded.
At the heart of the film’s story is the sacrifice that two young soldiers, Lance Corporal Blake (Dean-Charles Chapman) and Lance Corporal Schofield (George MacKay) are asked to make in taking the message across the battle lines. Lance Corporal Blake is particularly motivated to make the journey because he is aware that his brother is an officer in the battalion that most likely will be wiped out in battle.
This is a story of survival, of courage in the midst of intense fear, and of sacrifice beyond measure. We won’t spoil the story with the details, but these are Oscar-worthy moments on film.
Historians can debate the reasons why wars come about, or theologians can debate whether a war is “just,” but the call to make a significant sacrifice rarely gives you time to debate the choices you have to make. “1917” is a reminder that laying down your life for the sake of someone else is a choice that you have to make. Whether or note what brought you to that moment is just doesn’t change the fact that your soul is about to face a test.
Discussion
» All agree that war is evil. Whether it is a necessary evil is where we often disagree. On what basis do you put your own evaluation of this evaluation? Just war? Pacifism? Or something or someone else?
» The difference in motivation between Blake and Schofield is that Blake was going to attempt to save the life of his big brother, at least as a primary motivation. What would you call Schofield’s motivation?
» The fear that the field commander would not heed the order of the general was very real. The desire to fight in some people can lead them into positions of power. How do we protect our world from such people?
— Cinema in Focus is a social and spiritual movie commentary. Hal Conklin is a former mayor of Santa Barbara and Denny Wayman is the retired pastor of Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara and lead superintendent of Free Methodist Church in Southern California. For more reviews, visit www.cinemainfocus.com, or follow them on Twitter: @CinemaInFocus. The opinions expressed are their own.