Dunkirk - Review Thread

I have a real soft spot for movies following a timeline that hops around, showing you the major plotlines from different points of view, and/or showing how they affect one another.

War movies hardly focus out from the grandiose moments of triumph and battle, but essentially put all the chips in, giving us an introduction of character development before digging into all the big scenes and grand scopes of war-stuff (I'm trademarking that).

While Dunkirk had a number of battle engagements, they were much more focused and brief. They were usually quick, taking place between either two or a few more planes/soldiers/boats, and then opting to focus on the effect of said engagement on the few folks directly affected. The ending was extremely poignant, as a small decision/engagement had major effects but resulted in quite the opposite of a hero's welcome. In fact, all of the metaphorical fireworks and parading was done from a distance, the focus solely placed on the one person who did the thing and how it turned out for them. 

Nolan definitely had a theme he wanted to share here, and he made it entirely obvious without dumbing it down for the audience. This movie was about taking the big things we think of when we think of war - the explosions, the waves of planes, tanks, and ships, the sea of soldiers, and taking them to a much more microscopic level without pigeon-holing the film to be just a dogfighter movie, or a "lone soldier's/squad's journey" movie, or a ship-at-sea movie. He made humanized every battle scene. He made every explosion, every bullet, every plane crash really fucking count. He was able to break down the sum and display the parts in a way that could have easily been mishandled and entirely disjointed, or even awkward.

The more I think about how well he did this, the more I realize the subtle greatness that was Dunkirk. This is a war movie that stands apart from the rest

10/10

I feel like Nolan at this point has been given carte blanche to do whatever the fuck he wants - and want he wants is to put a magnifying glass on this significant yet relatively unknown moment in history.

I for one had no idea about the event until I found out about this movie.

It is unashamedly patriotic and righteous - I wouldn't be surprised to discover Nolan had relatives in the fray - but it never really paints even the Nazis as "bad guys".

It's simply war, and one side has capitulated and has no escape.

In another era, that would probably have led to a mass destruction of the nearly half a million soldiers, and it would have been a footnote in history as part of the battle.

But what actually happened was so damn unlikely and unexpected, even by the people facilitating it, that it probably does deserve a wider audience.

I agree with some complaints about scale - but imagine that was intentional. Hadn't Atonement already covered the grandeur? This film is not about grandeur.

It's about harsh, useless reality.

War is not glorious. It's not predictable. It's a mess reliant on young men praying for survival - or at least it used to be.

In some ways, Nolan is taking the piss - this is a passion project and he can do what he likes with it. He has little to prove.

But his love and obsession come shining through, and I have to wonder what the detractors were expecting?

All I ask now is, once again, what's next?

9/10

How the fuck are you British and not know about Dunkirk? Millennials, man.

Friday evening Deexan post... best not to scrutinize it too much.

I googled it. You're on my list.

I thought you were equating me to a Welshman. Fruit juice is way better.

That's racist.