Ian Freer:Just as actors have
big scenes that win them
awards, so Schofield’s sortie
into a bombed-out village is
a showcase for the flat-out
genius of cinematographer
Roger Deakins. He turns it
into a surrealist odyssey that
smacks of Salvador Dalí, with
flares and fire lighting up the
dark like a fireworks display.Sam Mendes:It’s the first
time in the movie the camera
detaches from the centralcharacters. The centre of this
landscape is this immense
burning church which lights
the whole of the town. I wanted
the movie to go into something
that was a bit more of a
hallucination. It is like going
into the centre of hell. It’s the
point of the movie where the
film moves from something
naturalistic to something
a bit more surreal and
hallucinatory and mythic. It
really feels like he has gone
into the underworld.Right:Paul
Nash’sThe Ypres
Salient At Night.
Below:Roger
Deakins’
stunning, surreal
photography.Ian Freer:Tracking down
a sniper, Schofield is knocked
unconscious by a ricocheting
bullet. The screen cuts to black
and when he comes round
it is night. If the moment plays
against the film’s it’s-all-one-
shot marketing narrative, it’s
effective in changing the rules
of the game. By now we are
used to the rhythm of one
shot so the very obvious cut
suggests all bets are off.Sam Mendes:I wanted to
make a big-time leap because
I wanted to start the movie goingdusk to night and I wanted the
movie to end going from night
’til dawn. So there is that. But
also I liked the idea that the
audience were genuinely not
going to know what will happen
next or if he was going to wake
up at all. So I push it to the limit
there. You’ve already lost one
of your central characters and
you don’t know if he is going to
make it or not. So it’s about
holding us in a feeling of
tension for as long as possible
and allowing us to imagine what
the possibilities might be up
ahead, not giving anythingaway.4 BLACK OUT
5 THE YPRES SALIENT
AT NIGHT (1918)
Krysty Wilson-Cairns: Paul Nash’s [painting] The
Ypres Salient At Night was so inspiring to me. It
was so stark,bleak and just horrifying. It is a still
version of the fl ares falling. So there was a lot
of stuff visually that I thought would echo
his emotional state that I wanted
to put into the script.a baby starving without his
mother and it was going to die
if it didn’t have milk. The soldier
had milk in his canteen and
said that perhaps for the only
time in the war, he felt he was
there for a reason. That was
incredibly emotional when
I listened to it, so we put
a version of it in the film.Sam Mendes:I wanted to
see Schofield as a parent for
the first time. I wanted to be
reminded of the other half of
the world and also the horror
of the collateral damage of war.
It’s not just men damaging men,
it’s men damaging women,
children, civilians. I wanted
to make sure it didn’t feel like
a solely male endeavour.7 THE FRENCH WOMAN
6 HELLSCAPE
Ian Freer:Schofield takes
shelter in a basement and is
treated by Lauri (Claire Duburcq),
a French woman looking after a
baby who doesn’t belong to her.
It’s a moment that is terrifying
and tender in equal moments.Krysty Wilson-Cairns: The
Imperial War Museum recorded
veterans in the 1950s talking
about their experiences in the
war. I listened to one veteran
talking about how he was in
the retreat in 1914 and how
he stole milk from a farmhouse.
He was a farmer and he felt so
guilty that he had stolen from
these people that were just
swept up in the war. He found
himself in abasement during
a bombardmentand there wasIn a tender moment, Schofi eld is
able to help Lauri (Claire Duburcq)
and her hungry baby.DO NOT CROSS HERE IF SPOILERS OFFEND
DO NOT CROSS HERE IF SPOILERS OFFEND
DO NOT CROSS HERE IF SPOILERS OFFEND