MOVIE: 1917

History teachers are probably aware that we have a rare WWI movie now showing in theaters across the country.  It has been heavily promoted and recently won the Golden Globe for Best Drama.  It certainly will get Academy Awards recognition.  Should you go see it and should you encourage your students to go?  The movie starts on April 6, 1917, which as you know, is the day the U.S. declared war.  Two British soldiers are assigned the perilous task of delivering an order to stop an attack that will walk into a trap and sacrifice as many as 1,600 men.  One of the soldiers has a brother who is in the unit that will be attacking.  The movie is basically a modern-day odyssey and should be viewed as such.  The duo must cross no man’s land, deal with a downed German pilot, encounter a sniper, survive a chase through a German occupied town at night, etc.  Meanwhile, the clock is ticking.  The movie is episodic and most of the scenes strain credulity, but nothing happens that was not possible.  The movie is not meant to be a documentary.  It eschews the typical anti-war theme common in Great War films in favor of an adventure tale that does not really comment on the war.  Your students will not feel they are being preached to.  As far as what they can learn from it, the main takeaway is that the war was gross.  This mainly refers to the no man’s land scene where all the gruesomeness is on display from dead bodies to rats eating dead bodies.  The movie does not cover the big picture and strategy and tactics are brushed over.  The central premise of preventing an ambush is weak.  The reason to watch it is it is very entertaining.  It was shot as though one long continuous take so the cinematography is amazing.  Any student interested in movie making will enjoy the technical genius.  Be aware that it is rated R, although I saw no reason why a high school student could not see it.  If they have a strong stomach.  It is not combat porn so the deaths are not graphic and there are not a lot of them.  I would not show it in class, but I would offer extra credit to go see it.  Don’t do that until you have previewed it yourself!