Meaning of a couple lines in the introduction of 1917 (2019 film)
At the beginning of 1917, we see Blake and Schofield chatting on their way to receiving their orders, giving the audience a taste of their personalities and friendship. Right after Schofield shares with a hungry Blake his modest snack stash, they have this exchange (I bolded lines I have questions about):
Blake: (grimaces) Tastes like old shoe.
Schofield: (impassive) Cheer up, this time next week it'll be chicken dinner.
Blake: Not me. (shrugs) My leave got cancelled.
Schofield: They say why?
Blake: No idea.
Schofield: (grimly) It's easier not to go back at all.
They stop walking as some soldiers carrying supplies move past. Blake and Schofield continue on their way.
Blake: (looking back at the soldiers) Something's up! Did you hear anything?
Schofield: No.
Blake: Has to be the push right? Ten bob says we're going up.
Schofield: I'm not taking that bet.
Blake: (smirks for a split second) Why, cuz you know I'm right?
Schofield: No, cuz you haven't got ten bob.
By "chicken dinner", I'm guessing Schofield meant returning home for proper meals, but I'm not sure. How plausible is it that WWI trench soldiers got chicken for dinner?
No idea what "it's easier not to go back at all" meant. My first guess was that he thought upcoming military plans (like "the push") required more soldiers to stay. But Schofield denies hearing any news, even when Blake attempts to goad him into revealing something. I can't imagine Schofield has any reason to hide news or rumors from Blake, so if that line was not about a military plan, what was it about?
Best Answer
It's clear from the Blake's and Schofield's conversation much later in movie that Schofield didn't liked going back home. It's the conversation when they are talking about exchanging medal for wine bottle.
I hated going home. I hated it. When I knew I couldn't stay, when I knew I had to leave and they might never see 'em...
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What is the message behind 1917?
The Innocence That War Destroys. Tucked into the plot of Sam Mendes's new film is a portrayal of the youth and innocence that is so readily destroyed in war.Is 1917 based off a true story?
1917 is something of a true story, loosely based on a tale the director's grandfather \u2013 Alfred H. Mendes, who served with the British Army during the First World War \u2013 told him as a child.Who are they delivering the message to in 1917?
On another quiet day, when nothing happens, two young soldiers, Blake and Schofield, are summoned to the general, who instructs them to send an important message to Colonel MacKenzie in the Second Devonshire Battalion, whose telephone connection was cut off by the enemy.1917 - Official Trailer [HD]
More answers regarding meaning of a couple lines in the introduction of 1917 (2019 film)
Answer 2
this time next week it'll be chicken dinner.
Yes, he's saying that Blake will be having proper meals while on leave.
It's easier not to go back at all.
This one is a little more vague but my interpretation is that going home is great but you still have to come back and that is incredibly depressing.
So it's better not going so you don't have the experience of losing/missing what you have back home all over again.
Answer 3
Previous answers have well covered the chicken dinner aspect of the question.
It's easier not to go back at all.
If you read memoirs of WWI (or really any war), soldiers who have been in combat sometimes feel alienated from the civilians at home. They have seen, and perhaps done things, that would be regarded as appalling in the civilian world. In the Britain of WWI, "decent people" wouldn't swear, let alone tell funny anecdotes about tripping and putting your hand into the chest cavity of a long dead corpse, or about someone diving into a ditch full of human excrement during an artillery bombardment. This made front line soldiers at home feel constrained because they had to watch their tongues around their civilian relatives. Better to be back among their comrades who understood what was what.
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