1917!

Movies about World War I are few and far between. Many of them are classics. All Quiet on the Western Front. Lawrence of Arabia. Gallipoli. Paths of Glory. Last years documentary They Shall Not Grow Old. And now, 1917.

You've seen the endless ads. They are promoting the shit out of this movie. And for good reason. You must see it if you have any sense of history and any sense of humanity. Mans inhumanity to man is in full force here.

Colin Firth is in it. If you've seen the ads you've pretty much seen Colin Firths entire scene. And he sets it up perfectly. You two Lance Corporals get to the company about to launch an offensive and stop it by walking through German territory or it will be a massacre.

Thats it. This movie is damn near a one shot. These two where have I seen those guys before actors endure horrific events on the way to attempt to save their comrades. Dead bodies. Dismembered bodies. Rats the size of small dogs. Mud. Standing water. Straggling Germans. Its a horror show. Will they make it in time?

Im not giving it away to say something happens to a major character relatively early that shocked me. Im not giving it away to say milk is involved in the most human part of the movie. Im not giving it away to say that plane crashing in the trailer is very important. Im not giving it away to say the actors who pop in, like Mark Strong and Benedict Cumberbatch and Richard Madden and especially an early appearance by Andrew Scott (he is dynamic in his scene sending the main characters out of the trench) are moments of clarity.

1917 may not seem like a movie for you. But it is. I saw it in IMAX and really that wasnt necessary to do. It made it louder and made me jump more than once but this movie stands on its own. A well deserved Golden Globe.