D LN A timely seamless mission for history > ‘1917’ Review Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist keen o far, the world has gone through two world wars. Hopefully, we do not go through another one, especially with recent events in Iran. In a world war, no one wins. This is due to the fact that such a conquest would involve everyone being worried about their safety. On top of that, those risking their lives in the war that survive would be severely affected mentally and physically in the long term. When I saw the preview for Sam Mendes’ next film, 1917, I wondered if it was going to do very well. After it was shown in limited release last month, many were saying that it earns the title of the best film of 2019, and that it could get Best Picture in the Academy Awards this year. These statements could be very true considering that the film got nominated for 10 Oscars this year. After seeing the film when it was released in theatres everywhere, I can confirm that it lives up to the hype, and makes the race for Best Picture much more interesting. This movie is another great example of why a film should be seen on the big screen first. The scene is set quickly: it has been six years since World War I began in1gu, and the German army set a trap in Fall Out Boy... except with more funk the Hindenburg Line for British soldiers unaware of it. Lance Corporals William Schofield (George MacKay) and Tom Blake (Dean- Charles Chapman) receive a mission from General Erinmore (Colin Firth) to deliver a message to Colonel MacKenzie (Benedict Cumberbatch) to call off the impending attack which could possibly lead to 1600 casualties. Among the count would be Blake's brother, Lieutenant Joseph Blake (Richard Madden). What would follow is an almost two-hour continuous shot of Will and Tom trying to accomplish their mission of getting to the French village of Ecoust. The message delivery forces them to encounter many obstacles in the trenches of the Western Front. Mendes and Krysty Wilson-Cairns’ screenplay is based on stories from Mendes’ grandfather, Alfred Mendes, who also served in World War I. Though the tone is serious, the film is punctured by the f word at certain times. Interestingly, | counted at least three continuous scenes in the movie. If the entire film was done in one take, it would have taken at least 10 hours. In line with this idea, it makes sense that they end one of the scenes at nighttime. The film being filmed at sunset and sunrise makes the continuous shots work. The scenes are sectioned when Will » J-Pop Spotlight: Official HIGE DANdism Jerrison Oracion Senior Columnist I November 2018, I was watching an episode of one of the biggest music shows in Japan, Music Station, to see band AKB48 perform their recent hit single during that time—“NO WAY MAN’ In the same episode, a band named Official HIGE DANdism performed their recent hit single around that time, “Stand By You.” I heard it, I liked it, and I decided that it sounds like Fall Out Boy... plus the usual sound of J-Pop. Since that performance, the rising band would create some of the most popular songs and become one of the biggest bands in Japan. Official HIGE DANdism, or, in English, Official Moustache Man-dism. The group consists of lead Satoshi Fujiwara who plays the piano, Makoto Narazaki who plays the bass guitar and saxophone, Masaki Matsuura who plays the drums, and Daisuke Ozasa who plays the guitar and is the shortest member in the band. The band began in 2012 after the members graduated from their respective music programs at Shimane University and Matsue National College of Technology. To any music students that are reading this story: it is possible that you will have success after you graduate from the college. Because the name of the band has “moustache” in it, the band’s logo also is a moustache, and the theme is seen throughout their music videos. The reason why the band is named Official HIGE DANdism is supposedly due to their “wish to continue playing together until they’re old enough to look good in mustaches,” according to Sync Music Japan. Ialso believe the name comes from them wanting to make music that will get everyone excited in this age of growing a moustache. I listened to more of their songs and they have a lot of exciting songs that are a mixture of rock, electronic, and funk. Most of their songs talk about love, the hardships of work, and fun times. Fujiwara’s singing is one of the reasons why the band sounds like Fall Out Boy—but Fujiwara’s mixing of the songs adds funk to them. They released their first mini-album in 2015, Love To Peace Ha Kimi No Naka, which sounds clever and very fun. A great hit single from the album is “SWEET TWEET,’ which talks about relationships. The music video features a Have an idea for a story? M arts@theotherpress.ca and Tom go through a door ora new environment. Mendes is also a stage director, and in an interview with IMDb, Chapman says that they rehearsed for six months before they actually started shooting. It is clear that they had to make sure that everything was perfect and moving along in real time. The direction from Mendes made the film resemble watching a play; he uses a lot of yellow just like in the James Bond film Skyfall— especially in the nighttime scene. Thomas Newman's score rouses the couple trying to figure out love. The band starts to get attention with their hit singles that lead up to their first full album ESCAPARADE. For examples, one only has to look to “Coffee to Syrup,” “Tell Me Baby,” “No Doubt,’ and one of my favourite songs from the band, “Brothers.” In the music video of “Brothers,” the band drives the infamous AkibaKarts (karts inspired by Mario Kart) around Tokyo. The song has a summer sound that it gets me excited, and I always jam to it. The band’s recent album—and first album under their newer record label, Pony Canyon— is called Traveler, and summarizes their breakthrough year with songs like “Pretender” and “Yesterday.” ¢ J-Pop Spotlight: Official HIGE DANdism ¢ 'Brand New' albums ranked ¢ A conquest for the most intense black paint ..and more Illustration by Athena Little audience into excitement and properly depicts the heavy impact of a war. There were a few scenes that involve trust— which is a major issue today which affect everyone's decisions and actions, so the film can speak to many in that way. There were a lot of surprise hits last year... But 1917 is the actual surprise hit of 2019 and almost my favourite film of 2019 (other than The Avengers: Endgame) because it is an almost seamless journey of a mission that shows that a war cannot solve the problem. Their recent music includes more orchestrations than their earlier music, making it sound more like alternative music. My favourite J-Pop song of 2019, “Pretender,” was the most streamed song in Japan in the year. When I heard the song for the first time, I thought that it was a Ken Hirai song. They even got worldwide attention by filming the music videos of “Pretender,” and 2019 single “Fate,” in Shanghai and New York City respectively. The band’s next hit single, “I LOVE...” arrives just in time for Valentine’s Day. All of Official HIGE DANdism’s songs matches their motto, which I believe is making music that gets everyone excited, moving, and growing moustaches.