The Movie Diary: 1917

Gone too soon

By Dom Cioffi

Depending on the weekend, I try to reserve Sundays to get all my errands completed. I’ll knock out a number of these tasks in the morning and then once my son wakes up (which is any time between 11 a.m. and noon… eye roll), we’ll head to breakfast before completing the rest.

My goal is to have everything finished by 3 p.m. so I can either go golfing or watch golf on television. Given the time of year, last Sunday was going to be all about watching golf.

When we finished our chores, my son headed upstairs to play guitar and I eased into my chair in the living room to watch golf. I grabbed the remote, hit the power button, waited for the signal to kick in, and then switched to the correct channel.

That’s when everything in my life stopped.

The first words I heard the announcer say when the channel popped up were, “We can confirm that Tiger’s caddy is aware of what happened to Kobe Bryant.”

Those words struck me funny. Why would Tiger’s caddy care what Kobe was up to in the middle of a round? Why would golf announcers be talking about a retired basketball player?

Within a second, my brain did the calculations. “Something happened to Kobe,” I thought.

I immediately turned the channel to CNN where my screen filled with the image of a live video feed of wreckage smoldering on a barren hillside. The words, “Kobe Bryant confirmed dead in helicopter crash” lit up the lower half of the screen.

I stood there, shocked. A sick feeling welled up in my stomach as I listened to the announcers relay the few details available at that point.

After a moment, I walked upstairs and opened my son’s bedroom door to find him sitting on his bed picking at his guitar. He looked up at me and, sensing the look of concern on my face, inquired what was wrong.

“Kobe Bryant just died in a helicopter crash,” I stated.

“What!” my son shouted, staring back at me with immediate dismay. “Please tell me you’re lying.”

I shook my head and led him to the living room where we both watch more of the newscast.

Having grown up with basketball as my favorite activity and having imparted that love of the game onto my son, we were both huge Kobe fans and both devastated by the news.

In fact, I’ve been a Laker fan all my life, beginning when they drafted Magic Johnson in the early 1980s. I followed them faithfully through the years, taking pride in their ability to stay relevant for such long stretches.

I was also a huge Michael Jordan fan (who wasn’t?) and loved watching the upstart Kobe go head-to-head with the legend. When Bulls’ coach, Phil Jackson, switched to the Lakers in the early 2000s and Shaquille O’Neal joined him, I beamed with anticipation of the dominance that would soon ensue (and ensue it did).

As my son became a fan of the game of basketball, I often spoke of Kobe’s win-at-all-costs approach, which allowed him to excel where others may have given up. His work ethic was legendary, and I wanted my son to understand that Kobe didn’t become one of the greatest players in the history of the NBA by accident. It took a massive amount of hard work.

Last Christmas, I bought my son Kobe’s book, “The Mamba Mentality,” in order to show him first-hand how a true athlete approaches the game. Together we read the book, taking delight in the amazing stories Kobe conveyed.

The world has lost a great one with this tragic accident. Most people know Kobe’s name, but if you’re not aware of the approach he took with the game he loved, take a deeper look. He truly was an amazing man.

This week’s film, “1917,” also deals with tragic loss, except in the case of this film, it’s on an epic scale with global repercussions.

“1917” chronicles the story of two young soldiers who are sent on a harrowing journey to deliver a message to a distant platoon that are about to unknowingly walk into their own massacre. The distance alone is daunting, but what’s hiding in the shadows along the way will test the two young men’s dedication and perseverance.

Within a few minutes of watching this movie, I knew something different was happening. It then occurred to me that the director was attempting to shoot the entire film in one long, continuous shot. Obviously, there was some trickery involved, but the results were mesmerizing.

Definitely give this film a try, especially if you enjoy military stories and appreciate the craft of filmmaking.

A daunting “A-” for “1917.”

Got a question or comment for Dom? You can email him at moviediary@att.net.