Directed by Peter Jackson. Reviewed by Paul Sorrell

As the World War I commemoration period draws to a close, the time is ripe for reflection on the war that was supposed to end all wars, and the scourge of war in general. In They Shall Not Grow Old, Peter Jackson has created an intimate and moving portrait of the ordinary British soldier in the trenches, bringing original footage to new life through modern digital technology and a hefty dose of cinematic creativity.

Eschewing dates and names (of both men and battlefields), Jackson simplifies the Tommies’ story to present a clear trajectory of their experience of war from enlistment, through training and deployment, to the full horrors of modern industrial warfare — and, finally, the relief of Armistice Day when the front fell eerily silent after four years of unbroken tumult.

Made in partnership with London’s Imperial War Museum, the film consists of 99 minutes of meticulously restored wartime film footage, accompanied by the voices of dozens of frontline infantrymen, drawn from postwar interviews. Although there is no narrator, words and images are seamlessly matched. Occasionally, the figures on the screen are given their own voice, their words recreated by eagle-eyed lip-readers.

They Shall Not Grow Old opens in black and white, showing optimistic new recruits voicing their enthusiasm for the war, eager to “have a crack at Jerry”. It is a magical moment when the film suddenly bursts into full colour, but also a sombre one, as we know what awaits these keen young men on the killing fields of France and Belgium. We all know what they found there — the bombs and bullets, rats and lice, the stinking, unburied corpses, the churned-up mud that sucked men and horses to their deaths — and Jackson’s film depicts all these things in heart-wrenching detail.

What especially attracted me about the film were the unexpected details — the men’s self-consciousness in front of the camera, and the terrible state of their teeth! The restoration by Weta Digital is so good that we can see every detail — from a young soldier’s shy smile to the slates falling from a roof as an artillery piece opens up.

Another surprise was the bonds that developed between German prisoners of war and their British captors — a soldierly familiarity that is clearly evident on screen, and an attitude that casts everything about this war into doubt.

With only a limited release in this country, They Shall Not Grow Old may be hard to track down, but the effort will be well rewarded. 

Tui Motu Magazine. Issue 233 December 2018: 37