Watch: 1917

I didn’t like Dunkirk. I thought it was trying too hard and was taking itself too seriously to the point of being unbearable. I stopped watching somewhere before the middle; it just wasn’t compelling enough; it felt more like a disjointed art piece.

In contrast, I found 1917 to be amazing. The movie is basically composed of one-shots. At first, it was a bit fatiguing, but the pacing of it was done extremely well along with the cinematography. The story is very basic; war, war never changes. Two soldiers have to go into enemy territory and deliver a message. The flow of the movie done in real time captures a weird magic about the frenzy of combat. I also liked that were was minimal backstory and context of the two main characters. They were just blank slates, but throughout the movie, you develop a connection with them by understanding who they are through their actions and choices.

Really great visuals, good mood, pacing and atmosphere, and really compelling. Definitely worth a watch.