1917 Opening

 1917

*from 0:00 - 4:00

The whole of 1917 is an interesting film to study as it was filmed in a way to appear as if it was one single shot and so the opening really has to hook an eager watcher but the first key moment I would say would be the very first shot. The first shot is a steady wide shot of a field of flowers then it starts to zoom back until two soldiers come into view. One of the soldiers has his face covered, the other doesn't. This suggests we will learn more or the story will follow the boy whose face is not covered more. The non-diegetic soundtrack that follows this sequence is a repeating tune of suspense while still being peaceful, something is coming but you are still enjoying the peace,

so the audience will not feel too comfortable. In this sequence the time period is also revealed as they soldiers are wearing WW1 uniform which will be easily recognisable as British, this will increase the attention from war film fans.A figure then entered the still shot of the two boys, his face remains unknown as only the bottom half of his body

can fit in frame as the boys are on the floor.

The boy who had his face covered we now learn is mike as the Sargent wakes him up, the interesting aspect of this encounter is how Blake is looking up the ‘Sarge’ who we cant see but still representing the authority and status in the war, how the men were told to follow  instructions from anyone higher even if they were unsure where the instructions came from or what they were. The next moment Blake stands up and asks the other boy to come with him and this is where who the scene follows becomes clear as when Blake stands up the camera still stays focused on the other boy and then Blakes hand comes into camera not showing the upper part of his body in frame and the other boy grabs it, the fact that Blakes body was not fully in frame(mystery/uncertainty) suggests that the boy did not know what he was getting into. And the frame still follows the other boy as he is helped up by Blake.

There is another key moment in this opening where the time and place is confirmed and that is the two boys as they walk through the camp as their surroundings are revealed to the audience. As the boys are talking the camera tracks them from the front so that as the walk further more is revealed such as the other soldiers revealing that this is a camp/base site and they are safe for the most part creating a sense of relief that was found in the shot with the flower field before.

The non-diegetic soundtrack keeps on playing throughout this scene creating more suspense to contrast the slightly peaceful setting of the countryside. We also learn a little bit about these characters as we learn they have a bond as Blake receives a letter and talks to the other boy as if he knows the subjects (they've had a conversation about family) and the other boy is willing to share his scares food with Blake. As the boys walk on the more complex their surroundings get with a barber and a cook and more which makes the two boys walking away from these slight normalities slightly worrying. The colour the previous shot used to have is beginning to fade as well as before it was a green and light setting suggesting peace and well-being but now as the boys move it begins to look more bleak with brown becoming a more dominating colour on screen suggesting that their movement is far from peace as well.

The last significant moment I gain from this opening would be the boy's entrance and journeys through the trenches as a fraction of the gore acquired in war is shown and it leaves the realm of slight relaxation for seriousness. The tracking shot from in front continues as they boys go into a much more narrow path and most peace is lost as the frantic energy around the trenches with people carrying things around in a hurry suggests there is something coming. The character bond is displayed again when they are having diegetic dialogue of joking around with each other presenting their youthful energy that was mostly torn away by the war. The boys also use language like ‘the push’ which will be recognised by any audience interested in the history of war a it was a huge failure and so with this knowledge anything that happens from now on Will be bittersweet as we know the ending for them. If we didn’t already know from the uniform or the setting the boys British accents give away that this is located with the British army. The tracking camera changes suddenly from being in front to behind once they find ‘sarge’ to signify they are no longer the ones in control they are just following orders like the camera is following them. A good example of the status between old and young would be the last moment I have chosen as the ‘sarge’ tells them to not mess up talking to someone that is in higher power then him that they will be talking to next and the boys fix their appearance, I feel this moment give of strong father, son energy as they boys are looking up at him with their back to us to accentuate sarge’s power even more as he is the only face we see. I believe the war genre is one very easy to check the boxes of but 1917 do more than that, the introduction to the character feeling steady and once we are familiar they move on, this will be very popular will history fans as it follows an important moment in history through soldiers eyes.