{"id":1791,"date":"2020-02-02T12:27:42","date_gmt":"2020-02-02T12:27:42","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/?p=1791"},"modified":"2020-02-02T12:27:42","modified_gmt":"2020-02-02T12:27:42","slug":"symbolism-in-the-film-1917","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/2020\/02\/02\/symbolism-in-the-film-1917\/","title":{"rendered":"Symbolism in the film – “1917”"},"content":{"rendered":"

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I am not big on war films, but went to see “1917” and I LOVED it. For me it is just a story told in beautifully-filmed images. I said \u201cjust a story\u201d, but it is all but \u201cjust\u201d. It is a riveting story, told in a poetic, picturesque way.\u00a0 From the opening scene, I knew that the relationship between the two main characters was special. There was not a moment in the film where my interest would waver. I knew something was going to happen, but what?<\/p>\n

Sam Mendes is a pictorial master. An abandoned doll, hacked cherry blossom, a ruined town in yellowish-amber light. Single images and symbols showing the cruelty of war. Why kill the cherry trees? Senselessness of war shown in one image, much more powerful than the graphic scenes of injuries. It reminded me of the poem \u201cSong of porcelain\u201d by the Polish poet, Czes\u0142aw Mi\u0142osz. \u201cRose-colored cup and saucer\u2026you lie beside the river where an armored column passes\u2026Of all things broken and lost, porcelain troubles me most\u201d. (see below)<\/p>\n

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Special effects in the film are impressive – some are straight from the James Bond movie. Historical accuracy was not always adhered to. I was not hooked by explosions or the types of bayonets used in World War One. I followed the story in still images.<\/p>\n

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The scene where Will has to leave the only female (apart from the baby) character behind, does not bode well. We know there are drunk German soldiers nearby, but Schofield has a duty to do\u2026<\/p>\n

Another poignant scene was when William put the photo of Tom\u2019s family on his body. It shows the importance of mothers – many of the soldiers were so young, they did not have girlfriends, hence it was the mother who they had in their hearts.<\/p>\n

Music is mesmerising. Another picture, when soldiers are listening to a song, which though not a rousing piece, but a gentle and melancholic one, \u201cwakes\u201d the \u00a0men up to a battle.\u00a0 It wakes the shell-shocked Will to action. This scene is universal. Polish classic literature has at least two famous \u201csongs\u201d when the lulled, tired and apathetic people are encouraged to fight for their independence (\u201cWesele\u201d, \u201cKonrad Wallenrod\u201d).<\/p>\n

It\u2019s so good that films like this are made. Teachers will have so many opportunities to use it for teaching symbolism, inference and poetry.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

SONG ON PORCELAIN<\/span><\/h2>\n

by Czes\u0142aw Mi\u0142osz<\/p>\n

Rose-colored cup and saucer,
\nFlowery demitasses:
\nYou lie beside the river
\nWhere an armored column passes.
\nWinds from across the meadow
\nSprinkle the banks with down;
\nA torn apple tree\u2019s shadow
\nFalls on the muddy path;
\nThe ground everywhere is strewn
\nWith bits of brittle froth\u2013
\nOf all things broken and lost
\nPorcelain troubles me most.<\/p>\n

Before the first red tones
\nBegin to warm the sky
\nThe earth wakes up, and moans.
\nIt is the small sad cry
\nOf cups and saucers cracking,
\nThe masters\u2019 precious dream
\nOf roses, of mowers raking,
\nAnd shepherds on the lawn.
\nThe black underground stream
\nSwallows the frozen swan.
\nThis morning, as I walked past,
\nThe porcelain troubled me most.<\/p>\n

The blackened plain spreads out
\nTo where the horizon blurs
\nIn a litter of handle and spout,
\nA lively pulp that stirs
\nAnd crunches under my feet.
\nPretty useless foam:
\nYour stained colors are sweet,
\nSplattered in dirty waves
\nFlecking the fresh black loam
\nIn the mounds of these new graves.
\nIn sorrow and pain and cost,
\nSir, porcelain troubles me most.<\/p>\n

translated by Czes\u0142aw Mi\u0142osz and Robert Pinsky<\/p>\n

Source: Antiwar Films<\/a><\/em><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I am not big on war films, but went to see “1917” and I LOVED it. For me it is just a story told in beautifully-filmed images. I said \u201cjust a story\u201d, but it is all but \u201cjust\u201d. It is a riveting story, told in a poetic, picturesque way.\u00a0 From the opening scene, I knew Read More …<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[45,37,43],"tags":[113,123,115,131,125,119,117,121,129,127],"class_list":["post-1791","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-classroom-resources","category-eal","category-polish-literature","tag-113","tag-czeslaw-milosz","tag-film","tag-inference","tag-piosenka-o-porcelanie","tag-polish-literature","tag-sam-mendes","tag-song-of-porcelain","tag-symbolism","tag-war"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1791"}],"version-history":[{"count":6,"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1807,"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1791\/revisions\/1807"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1791"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1791"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/eal.pjb.co.uk\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1791"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}