They Shall Not Grow Old (2018)

☆ ☆ ☆ ☆ ½

They Shall Not Grow Old (2018) – P. Jackson

There was a time when “colorization” spruiked by Ted Turner was universally decried (and it is still a travesty when applied to the Golden Age of Hollywood).  But director Peter Jackson has found a brilliant way to use this technology to bring history to life.  He’s used found footage of British troops in WWI and matched it up with recorded oral histories from surviving vets to produce an astounding and physically impacting depiction/description of the Great War.  Beginning with recollections of their motives for signing up (and impossibly young ages), we move through boot camp and then over to the trenches in France.  After a brief beginning in B&W, Jackson and his team of creative wizards move into widescreen colour and the footage leaps off the screen.  It is gruesome as all hell and not for the faintly hearted.  The transformation from wide-eyed boys looking for adventure to weary wounded and traumatised souls is palpable.  There’s enough real detail here to create a “you are there” experience -- and you wouldn’t want to be.  Is it enough to prevent yet another war or will people feel that modern battle (with drones etc.) is different/detached? Innocent people still die.  And death is all around in this film that still manages to remain a tribute to the bravery of those who enlisted (on both the British and German sides, in fact) on the centennial anniversary of the end of the war.  Of course, one can question some of the choices here – clearly Jackson and crew added the soundtrack (created entirely from scratch to fit the images), selected the quotes, chose the footage (which is sometimes repetitive), etc.  It is not too far from a personal essay in that regard, though Jackson wisely keeps out of the frame.  In the end, it is impossible not to be walloped by this.