Journey’s start to journey s end

FOR A MOVIE presented in a single shot, Sam Mendes’ 1917 gets about a bit. His World War I epic follows two British soldiers (George MacKay’s Schofield and Dean-Charles Chapman’s Blake) on an epic quest to deliver crucial orders to stop an ill-fated attack. Along the way, they encounter obstacles at every turn. For the soldiers, their journey is haphazard and improvised, but for Mendes and his co-writer, Krysty Wilson-Cairns, it was meticulously planned, and every location they visit upon the way was there for a reason. Here, they talk us through the journey, step by step.

THE BRITISH TRENCHES

“Sam and I had always talked about the concept of nature, and what war does to nature,” says Wilson-Cairns. “And so we wanted to start with greenery and trees and birdsong.” The film begins with Schofield perched against a tree, taking a breather behind the front lines. “We start behind the third-line trench,” Wilson-Cairns explains; British trenches then were divided into specific areas. “You think of it as one long