Almost continually, throughout the whole showing, the picture jumped about,
rattled from side to side and wobbled up and down which simply made viewing
almost unbearable and attention drifted from the message to the projection.
Complaints were registered early on and ticket money was later refunded along
with a free pass for a future film, unfortunately that doesn't really make up
for the loss of enjoyment of a film which I wouldn't really want to see again,
based upon what I did see.
Although I didn't get to enjoy the film, I did see it all and managed to follow
the plot and action. My review may be tainted by less than perfect viewing
conditions but I feel I got enough of the drift to fairly comment.
The film is set in the First World War during the 24 hours prior to the troops
going over the top to do battle at The Somme.
It is a tale of life in the trenches and of the relationships between the men
who inhabited them.
Narrative is dropped in favour of observation and we eavesdrop on the various
characters as they pass their final hours away.
And that's pretty much it.
The narrative was good in places, occasionally interesting but not really all
that captivating.
A lack of stable, solid visual imagery to backup the soundtrack probably
reduced its overall impact but I couldn't help thinking that it offered nothing
special or different to any other life in the trenches tales.
I left with the feeling that it was all done much better, with a better
plotline, in Gallipoli.
A shame really, as it did look, from the trailers, like it would be an
incisive exploration of life in those trenches.
