This movie... you cannot describe in words. The emotion, the tragedy, the harsh realities of not just war, World War One itself. Sam Mendes made this the most emotional war movie I have actually ever seen, and after seeing it you just think to yourself about what you have just seen. Going through the trenches and landscapes with one continuous shot encases yourself into this horrific war. It's perhaps the greatest war movie of all time.
As we follow the lives of 2 soldiers; William Schofield and Tom Blake. They have a mission; stop an attack that will cost the lives of around 1,600 men. William at first is not so fond of the attack, however, Tom convinces him to do so because of his toppling and accurate ego of a young soldier who only wishes to do right and carry out his orders.
As the story carries on, we clearly see the distinct line between the two. Blake doesn't understand why Schofield gave up his medal; he did it for survival. All of the things that would bring him glory and happiness, he abandoned because of clear will. We also learn that he does not wish to return home because he has a wife and kids (yes, this is a big middle finger to the people who created fanfiction on this movie), and he doesn't want to return home as a daddy, meanwhile he will only have to return back to the battlefields and leave his family anti-climatically.
I will not release any more spoilers, but this movie is a wonder. A true piece of art that I can even compare to the likes of Dunkirk and Saving Private Ryan, even Waterloo. So as you watch the movie 1917, keep in mind that this was a war like no other. Valuable lives lost for half an inch; so that they, in glory in triumph, could be momentary victors of a pointless war.