Film: 14-18: The Noise And The Fury
Year of production: 2008
UK Release date: 4th April 2011
Distributor: Kaleidoscope
Certificate: E
Running time: 100 mins
Director: Jean-François Delassus
Genre: Documentary
Format: DVD
Country of Production: France
Language: French
Review by: Matt Castagna
With its unique first person narrative comes 14-18: The Noise And The Fury, a pastiche of restored and colourised footage which serves to document The Great War (WW1) in refreshing but at times disturbing clarity. Director Jean-Francois Delassus couples archive footage from the war, with clips from one or two other mediums, in order to construct a graphic tale with a raw slant.
The film centres around Protag, a young Frenchman who enlists to fight, fuelled by little more than his own sense of adventure. A common misconception at this time was that life as a soldier was both heroic and glorious, a misconception that feeds his desire further. However, what begins as a naive soldier’s journey into the great unknown soon becomes something much darker as Protag becomes quite literally bogged down in the conflict that would shape Europe for the next century.
In amongst the explanations and general overview of The Great War as a whole, Protag’s plight remains a key feature throughout, with vivid and descriptive dialogue depicting life in the trenches. His experiences of death and destruction remain prominent throughout, as is his struggle to maintain a sense of faith in a war that is remembered less for the lion hearts and more so for the brutality of killing fields and machine-gun warfare.
The English language version features an enticing reading by Paul Bandey, whose frank voiceovers provide a foreboding feel to proceedings…
Engaging its audience via the identification of the reluctant hero Protag, 14-18 invests our interest in his plight whilst giving an overview of the story of the First World War – the players, the pieces, the grand scale game of chess played across what is now Modern Europe. No stone is left unturned in what is, at times. a difficult watch, particularly when the film shifts to the more personal tribulations. The grimy reality of living in trenches, struggling with the biting cold of the weather and the mud, the gnawing of the rats, even the agony of lice, all torturous reminders of a soldier’s daily drama.
The changing visuals of black-and-white stills combined with colour footage from films, some entertaining comedy at the hands of a Mr. Charlie Chaplin, and action on the battlefield create a stimulating aesthetic, but the most poignant tool at Delassus’ disposal is the piercing narration of Paul Bandey. The combination of Bandey’s ominous narration and the sombre musical tones makes its mark on more than one occasion, dictating the mood throughout.
Another area in which the film excels is in illustrating the true paragons of particular emotions. The glory of national pride remains prominent throughout. The scenes in which soldiers write their letters to loved ones, masking their fear with words of hope and bravery, thus maintaining the aforementioned misconceptions of heroic glory, are especially eye-opening. Vengeance is also explored throughout; in the face of such ruthless cruelty, Protag instantly becomes consumed by a thirst for revenge, following one or two terrible injuries.
Of course, 14-18 is not intended as a comfortable watch, merely providing the odd moment of respite, in which we are filled in on more general details, before returning to the first-hand experiences of Protag and his comrades. This acts as a means of identification with the soldiers, who once in a while take a short break from the battlefield and return to their home towns and cities, only to be called back out to fight all too soon. The soldiers’ faith and in turn our own is tested, and in their despair, both soldiers and the townsfolk they have left behind look to the Church for renewed hope.
Protag’s story is gripping to the end, the powerful mix of devastating action scenes combined with the damaging emotional effect on our main protagonist producing a stunning climax as the war reaches its end and Protag learns his final fate.
Many war films fall flat by focusing too much attention on either mindless violence, or one story in amongst a million. 14-18: The Noise And The Fury succeeds in tying in two primary elements almost seamlessly – the arcing story of senseless warmongering and the faithless plight of the walking wounded.
The film at times feels like a throwback to the chalkboards and musty textbooks of history lessons; however, should 14-18: The Noise And The Fury be added to the school syllabus some day, the engaging content might see a sudden uprising of the average pass rate.
Delassus’ innovative and well structured documentary provides an absorbing and, at times, brutal angle to one of the great stories in recent history. 14-18: The Noise And The Fury endeavours to deliver exactly what it says on the tin, and packs quite a punch. MC
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