‘1917’ Thinks War Is Swell
Sam Mendes’ WWI epic is a bloody celebration of men in battle that’s all bang, no angst
Early in a now largely forgotten book from 2002 called War Is a Force That Gives Us Meaning, American journalist and ordained Presbyterian minister Chris Hedges makes a heretical declaration: “The enduring attraction of war is this: Even with its destruction and carnage, it can give us what we long for in life. It can give us purpose, meaning, a reason for living.”
No other war film in recent memory has the balls to reaffirm this statement as baldly or gloriously as the new movie 1917. Critics have rushed to lavish director Sam Mendes with praise for his movie, a masterpiece of cinematic wizardry. The sprawling WWI film is already famous for unfolding as one continuous, single-tracking shot, even though it wasn’t actually shot that way. It’s an undeniably dazzling achievement but like any good magic trick, its technical precision exists mostly to distract the audience from the true purpose of the ruse.
Be careful when you enter the theater. While you’re falling for its spectacular deceit, 1917 is stealing your morals. What 1917 wants you to believe is that everything the movies have taught us about wars for the last half-century is wrong. Every university lecture or TV documentary you’ve ever plowed…
