My favorite movie of all time is Star Wars: Episode V – The Empire Strikes Back (1980).  It has been that way since I was a little kid, fascinated by the space adventure.  Seeing the Millennium Falcon twirling in zero gravity in a desperate attempt to evade Star Destroyers and Twin Ion Engine (TIE) fighters (yes, I am that kind of nerd) captured my attention.  It is funny how tastes change as we grow older, which I credit to growing in my Catholic Faith.  These days, what interests me more are the sayings of the wise old Jedi Master, Yoda (voiced by Frank Oz).  When Luke Skywalker (Mark Hammill) comes to the swamp planet of Dagobah looking to be trained in the ways of the Jedi, he is full of romantic notions of being a warrior for justice.  Yoda responds by saying in his usual garbled syntax, “Wars not make one great.”  Such words are needed right now given what is going on in the world.  If you want a cinematic representation of how terrible is armed conflict, watch Journey’s End (2017).

It is almost Journey’s End for World War I, and a battle-hardened British company of that particular armed conflict is away from the front lines.  However, their turn to be in those trenches is coming as word reaches their officers.  Namely, their second-in-command, Lieutenant Osborne (Paul Bettany), who the others refer to as “Uncle,” is the one who gets the orders.  His fellow leaders will be introduced as needed, but the main one to be roused from his drinking is their commander, Captain Stanhope (Sam Claflin).  He is an alcoholic, but he has seen his men through nearly four years of hard fighting.  It is because of that combat that he has become the person he is now.  Newly arrived on the continent, Second Lieutenant Raleigh (Asa Butterfield) knows nothing of these issues.  He is only eager to join his old friend from school, Captain Stanhope, who had told Second Lieutenant Raleigh to come to his company upon joining the army.  Indeed, Second Lieutenant Raleigh petitions his uncle, General Raleigh (Rupert Wickham), to let the inexperienced officer fall in with Captain Stanhope’s men despite the junior officer’s lack of experience.  There is also the fact that they are soon going into combat.  Speaking of which, the company gets to the dreaded front-line trenches, witnessing the previous unit carrying off vital supplies in anticipation of a major German offensive to come in mere days.  Eventually, Second Lieutenant Raleigh finds them there, though he does not receive the expected warm welcome from Captain Stanhope.  Instead, Captain Stanhope stares at his old friend in shock, and coldly orders around Second Lieutenant Raleigh.  It is Lieutenant Osborne who is more congenial, seeing to the young man’s needs.  From there, the company settles into the routine of being in the trenches, setting watches and keeping their heads down as much as possible.  Captain Stanhope continues to drink heavily, getting drunk nearly every night.  Only Lieutenant Osborne can calm down their commander.  Before too long, Captain Stanhope is summoned to meet with the Colonel (Robert Glenister) in order to be told when the anticipated German attack is to happen.  Though they have the information they need, the Colonel inexplicably orders a raid to take place in order to capture a German soldier for questioning.  It is an unenviable task and Captain Stanhope is dismayed by the prospects.  Because the Colonel feels like he cannot afford to lose Captain Stanhope, the company is to send Lieutenant Osborne and Second Lieutenant Raleigh, along with ten men, across no-man’s land to complete the mission.  Before departing, Lieutenant Osborne tries to give Captain Stanhope some of his effects to give to his wife in the event of his death, but his commander refuses to think about that possibility.  The foray is also to take place during the day, using a smoke screen for cover, because the higher-ups have a dinner planned for that evening that Captain Stanhope must attend.  It is absurd as it sounds and it should come as no surprise that Lieutenant Osborne dies during the raid.  Lieutenant Raleigh is able to make it back with the prisoner, but he, too, is deeply shaken by the loss of the second-in-command.  Lieutenant Osborne’s death affects Captain Stanhope the most, who drinks even more heavily, and lashes out at everyone else with increasing ire.  Captain Stanhope disappears into a bottle and is only stirred the next morning when the German offensive is set to begin.  As often happens during these things, it is preceded by a massive artillery bombardment.  The falling shells create chaos, and in it Second Lieutenant Raleigh is mortally wounded.  Captain Stanhope takes the younger officer down into the dugout and is there as his old friend dies.  Shell shocked, Captain Stanhope wanders back to the trench before the scene ends.  The next day, Second Lieutenant Raleigh’s sister, Margaret (Rose Reade), receives the one letter her brother had managed to write, while German soldiers pick over the carnage of the British line.

Though Journey’s End concludes with a German victory, the postscript explains that it is a short-lived triumph.  The movie takes place in March of 1918, and the war is done by November of the same year.  In that time, the British and their allies manage to retake all that ground, but at the loss of a million more people like Second Lieutenant Raleigh on both sides.  It is a terrible, un-Christian slaughter that is best read about than seen in films like this one.  I would love to say there is some discussion of God in the movie, but that is not the case, sadly.  I am blessed to have never been in that kind of situation, but it makes sense to say that people who have gone through it tend to question God’s love for humanity.  I would not say they doubt the existence of God, though.  There is an old saying about warfare that there is no such thing as an atheist in the foxhole.  This is because it seems so random as to who lives and who dies.  The climactic shelling scene tells the story.  An artillery round or bullet is aimed at a certain area, but any number of factors can knock it off its course a little one way or another.  We have no control over those factors, so those under fire tend to pray to whatever divine force they think is watching over them that they live.  The answer, of course, is God.  During the fighting, there were reports of Mary appearing on the battlefield, such as during the fighting at Marne in 1914.  Her intervention is credited with stopping the German advance at that time.  As for our characters, I am not sure they could count on any such help.  It is not that it is impossible.  Anything is possible with God.  Yet, if they are seeking deliverance from death, then God has other plans.  Either way, Faith is not about whether you live or die.  Rather, it is about having a relationship with God, which is lacking from these proceedings.

Should you proceed to watch Journey’s End, just know that it is a sad film.  It is violent, though not as bloody as I expected it to be.  If it has any overarching quality, it is that it has a great cast and is well shot.