Movie Dunkirk (New Christopher Nolan film)

[Espe]

Ok i feel really bad. But I honestly didn't like this film.

Maybe because its unique where there's no real 'story arc' or characters, which is quite different to every other film out there. I was just honestly bored throughout the whole thing. I thought it was building to a climatic finale, but it didn't.

Again it's weird. Have loved every Nolan film to date. I appreciated what it 'was', I loved the sound design and the cinematography was outstanding, but apart from that there was so many times i sighed in sheer boredom. Just lacked so much for me. Found it just hollow and empty without any substance to it. I know it was sort of the point, but as a spectacle it just didn't do it to me. I didn't know any of the characters so I didn't really care what happened to them. Found myself checking the time a few times, and that's not good.

I immediately wondered if this was just done by a no name director if it would be getting the same amount of praise.

 

[crafty_bernardo]

It was purposely done. I don't think you're meant to get invested in the characters. They're just small pieces to the greater scale of war.

 

[Espe]

It was purposely done. I don't think you're meant to get invested in the characters. They're just small pieces to the greater scale of war.

Yeah I know it was, as I said. Was meant for the audience member just to experience what it was actually like in that moment in time.

But in saying that I was still bored. I even expected more action and the heartbreak of what war is, just didn't feel it.

 

[Anja_Nees]

So turns out Bane was a WW2 fighter pilot! Makes a lot more sense now.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Yeah I know it was, as I said. Was meant for the audience member just to experience what it was actually like in that moment in time.

But in saying that I was still bored. I even expected more action and the heartbreak of what war is, just didn't feel it.

I felt like there was lots of moments of heartbreak and grimness

Spoiler

• the medical ship getting loaded up with wounded soldiers only to be sunk and the wounded left to go down with the ship.
  
• The bombings on the beach and pier.
  
• The destroyer going down after the torpedo hit and presumably dozens of soldiers and nurses drowning.
  
• Bodies being left in the sea or on the beach because decency had eroded and self survival became prevalent.
• the lone soldier who either became so despondent or desperate, he tried swimming home (or drowning himself - I think it was left deliberately ambiguous).
  
• Soldiers burning in the oil slick water when rescue was so close.
  
• The bitter soldier who sarcastically tells Hardy's pilot squad mate off 'where was the bloody air force'.
  
• Hardy's plane running out of fuel and him being captured despite his heroics.

I kind of think I see where you're coming from - the deaths probably didn't have a personal effect as the characters don't really speak much and so you don't get too attached to them. The characters who die usually are only on screen fleetingly. As said above, I think they were more their to play and serve a role about the wider situation at Dunkirk. The setting and atmosphere is the real star of the movie.

As for being bored, you must have nerves of steel mate. Every pop of a gun, ping of a ricocheting bullet, roar of a plane engine, shriek of a dive bomber, explosion spliced in with Zimmer's tense music kept me on the edge of my seat.

So turns out Bane was a WW2 fighter pilot! Makes a lot more sense now.

And Mad Max - would help explain why he was so focused on fuel in Fury Road. Had some bad experiences running out of the stuff....

 

[LeverPuller]

I felt like there was lots of moments of heartbreak and grimness

Spoiler

• the medical ship getting loaded up with wounded soldiers only to be sunk and the wounded left to go down with the ship.
  
• The bombings on the beach and pier.
  
• The destroyer going down after the torpedo hit and presumably dozens of soldiers and nurses drowning.
  
• Bodies being left in the sea or on the beach because decency had eroded and self survival became prevalent.
• the lone soldier who either became so despondent or desperate, he tried swimming home (or drowning himself - I think it was left deliberately ambiguous).
  
• Soldiers burning in the oil slick water when rescue was so close.
  
• The bitter soldier who sarcastically tells Hardy's pilot squad mate off 'where was the bloody air force'.
  
• Hardy's plane running out of fuel and him being captured despite his heroics.

I kind of think I see where you're coming from - the deaths probably didn't have a personal effect as the characters don't really speak much and so you don't get too attached to them. The characters who die usually are only on screen fleetingly. As said above, I think they were more their to play and serve a role about the wider situation at Dunkirk. The setting and atmosphere is the real star of the movie.

As for being bored, you must have nerves of steel mate. Every pop of a gun, ping of a ricocheting bullet, roar of a plane engine, shriek of a dive bomber, explosion spliced in with Zimmer's tense music kept me on the edge of my seat.



And Mad Max - would help explain why he was so focused on fuel in Fury Road. Had some bad experiences running out of the stuff....

Spoiler

Didn't anyone feel for the Frenchman? Poor bastard just wanted to get out of there and was doing anything he could to do so. It didn't mean he wasn't heroic - after all, he was the one that opened the door on the torpedoed destroyer to let out the drowning soldiers. And he was the last one to stay back and try to keep the boat afloat when all the English soldiers had left. That bit really got me - he was SO CLOSE.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Spoiler

Didn't anyone feel for the Frenchman? Poor bastard just wanted to get out of there and was doing anything he could to do so. It didn't mean he wasn't heroic - after all, he was the one that opened the door on the torpedoed destroyer to let out the drowning soldiers. And he was the last one to stay back and try to keep the boat afloat when all the English soldiers had left. That bit really got me - he was SO CLOSE.

Spoiler

Yeah I think they did a great job showing the dissolving relationship between the allied French and English soldiers - like at the start how a bunch wanted to join the medical ship for evacuation. And the Admiral talking to the army officer essentially saying they (Britain's priority) were publicly supporting the French but secretly looking to their own. They were allies but faced with desperation and self preservation, they started turning on each other. What was the great line inside the ship? Where one guy asked how he could live with himself if they shot the Frenchman and the other soldier replied he could essentially live with it because his life was more important than the Frenchman's.

 

[LeverPuller]

Spoiler

Yeah I think they did a great job showing the dissolving relationship between the allied French and English soldiers - like at the start how a bunch wanted to join the medical ship for evacuation. And the Admiral talking to the army officer essentially saying they (Britain's priority) were publicly supporting the French but secretly looking to their own. They were allies but faced with desperation and self preservation, they started turning on each other. What was the great line inside the ship? Where one guy asked how he could live with himself if they shot the Frenchman and the other soldier replied he could essentially live with it because his life was more important than the Frenchman's.

Spoiler

Yeah. I think in the future the movie will be an interesting film studies case - how the depiction of the breakdown in Franco-British relations in the movie was a reflection of the Fall of France as a whole. The French holding the line bitterly behind their sandbag fort as an allegory for Maginot. That public v private discussion. The British staying behind as an allegory for the morals of Britain as a whole - yes, we will help, but only once our position is secure.
Even other elements - you can look at Hardy's fuel situation as the position of Britain at the Fall of France. The reserves are empty (fuel as the British material reserves). The question is do you turn tail and save what is left (ie negotiated solution, Hardy returning to England) or do you stand fast and keep fighting (Hardy engaging the bomber)? There's plenty of symbolism within this sucker.

 

[Bigjobss]

Saw it last week and throughly enjoyed it, saw it at V-max without knowing it was 70mm so I may even catch it at Imax before it finishes its run, the sound was amazing, it needs to be LOUD!.
Loved the tension building. Restored my faith in mainstream cinema, good to see a blockbuster that wasnt super hero crap.

 

[Pera]

The movie as a whole is great, not a masterpiece BUT this is easily the best experience ive had at the movies in my life. The impact and sound really hits home and it felt like Nolan was trying to put us right there in Dunkirk through 3 different story arcs. Story and characters were irrelavant, as I simply lost myself in what was happening. And man that score....

 

[JackOutback]

Nolan is often criticised for being unable to write fully rounded characters and developed relationships, which ironically could be the strength of the movie. This is not a traditional film following the main character's journey, it is more just an observation of war, beautifully filmed, with amazing sound and the ability to put you in the middle of it like no other war film. He still loves playing with time and it works well, with the intersecting characters. Definitely one of the films of the year.

 

[electricfeel]

Nolan is often criticised for being unable to write fully rounded characters and developed relationships, which ironically could be the strength of the movie. This is not a traditional film following the main character's journey, it is more just an observation of war, beautifully filmed, with amazing sound and the ability to put you in the middle of it like no other war film. He still loves playing with time and it works well, with the intersecting characters. Definitely one of the films of the year.

I actually liked that there wasn't much dialogue to it and how there wasn't really a standout lead. That's not what it's supposed to be, as you said it was more of a depiction and observation of war, rather than the character's journey.

 

[NUFC Tiger]

Spoiler

Yeah. I think in the future the movie will be an interesting film studies case - how the depiction of the breakdown in Franco-British relations in the movie was a reflection of the Fall of France as a whole. The French holding the line bitterly behind their sandbag fort as an allegory for Maginot. That public v private discussion. The British staying behind as an allegory for the morals of Britain as a whole - yes, we will help, but only once our position is secure.
Even other elements - you can look at Hardy's fuel situation as the position of Britain at the Fall of France. The reserves are empty (fuel as the British material reserves). The question is do you turn tail and save what is left (ie negotiated solution, Hardy returning to England) or do you stand fast and keep fighting (Hardy engaging the bomber)? There's plenty of symbolism within this sucker.

Spoiler

Those are some really poignant observations dude. Loved the Maginot reference especially too. Those French soldiers were well entrenched with their defences but you could see in their eyes that they knew it was a futile gesture as they were trapped (and at the time in the movie, likely to be captured). While the evacuation was an outstanding success as it essentially allowed the allies to fight another day - I believe there was still 40k or so French soldiers who weren't evacuated and had to surrender.


Loved the Hardy dilemma too. My first reaction to him landing his plane and waiting to be captured was like 'why didn't you try and land closer to the allied soldiers and try and evacuate with them? When his plane was about to start running on fumes, you could see the struggle he fought within his mind of whether to turn tail and head home or stay on station and provide what limited air cover he could manage. I think his lack of attempting to escape is probably a nod to those who were the rearguard and ultimately captured. Him flying over the cheering soldiers too - giving them hope and courage to keep fighting was also pretty touching too. I think I read after the movie that Hardy's character was based on a real RAF pilot who was captured after landing his fuel starved plane on the beach of Dunkirk.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Brilliant movie for mine.

Felt like I couldn't breathe properly throughout given it was so tense.

Personally I feel the fact that the movie was not based on character, or character development was perfect. This kind of movie shouldn't be about that, it was about capturing the feel of that whole period - the terror, the suspense, the desperation. And he certainly did that (ably assisted by Zimmer's score, which was perfect).

 

[Judd2Sewell]

The movie as a whole is great, not a masterpiece BUT this is easily the best experience ive had at the movies in my life. The impact and sound really hits home and it felt like Nolan was trying to put us right there in Dunkirk through 3 different story arcs. Story and characters were irrelavant, as I simply lost myself in what was happening. And man that score....

Agree with you 100%.

Characters were irrelevant. It was about capturing the feel of that whole battle/operation.

And the score was one of the very best I've heard in a movie. It was perfect; it didn't overpower any scene but simply added to the suspense and feeling of desperation.

Credit where it's due, I thought Harry Styles was good. Didn't think about him being in some horrible band at all.

It was also the first movie that I can remember seeing (and I go often) where I didn't hear a single murmur or talker among the crowd at all, everyone was too engrossed.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

So turns out Bane was a WW2 fighter pilot! Makes a lot more sense now.

Tom Hardy is a legend.

He will also be Venom in the new upcoming Venom movie (Marvel).

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Minor scene spoiler

Spoiler

I loved how Hardy circled around to confirm whether his mate had survived hitting the ocean in his Spitfire, seeing what we thought was a hand waving to him signalling that he was OK... Only to see later on it was him desperately trying to get out of the cockpit.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Saw it last night and wow, honestly was just stunned. If you get the chance, see it in IMAX. Breathtaking experience.

Spoiler

IMO will be remembered as an iconic war film without a shadow of a doubt but perhaps not for the reasons most would assume. Where films like Saving Private Ryan and Hacksaw Ridge more recently had plenty of onscreen blood; there is actually very little blood and essentially no gore shown in Dunkirk. It was so well filmed that it didn't need to show the horrifying injuries and violence to have a profound impact. During bombing scenes, the bodies who didn't get up off the beach afterwards showed the grim reality of the situation. You see people drown, you see medical ships sunk, you see civilian boats torpedoed. People get left behind. Really does a fine job showing that there is no 'winners' in a war. Everybody suffers and sacrifices.

Very little dialogue is used. No fluffy uplifting speeches or wistful monologues of people dreaming of their loved ones. A lot of the 'acting' is done by the facial expressions and the situation the characters find themselves in. They did terror, claustrophobia, desperation, hope so well without it needing to ever really be said. The movie didn't glorify war either. There's almost no humour as everything is so dire and desperate. They show some simmering tensions between French and British soldiers where one is almost shot as the group become so animalistic and desperate.

You never see the faces of 'the enemy' (liked how they didn't say Nazi Germany at the start). Really adds to the general fear you feel that the allied soldiers probably felt as they were trapped. They knew the enemy was there but couldn't see them. It would have been easy to say evil things about the Nazi's to get that point across to the audience but the film didn't really touch on the politics of war. It just showed the plights of people caught up in the events and I think that made it more powerful IMO.

Plot is basically a few different arcs (focusing on the protagonists involved on the land/beach, sea and air so you get really insightful perspectives from everyone involved). Plus they are all happening at different types and eventually overlap with each other at various points in the movie (so you can see the same event from 2 different POVs). Was really well done IMO. My particular favourite scenes were the air sequences - as a bit of a military history fan, loved the dog fighting sequences - you get to feel the nausea the pilots probably felt as they are weaving, diving, dodging through the air). That isn't to say the other sequences are not amazing though. Each POV really put you in the shoes of the people involved. Was total immersion.

The music and the score were fantastic - expected nothing less of Hans Zimmer though. The movie is tense and full of suspense the whole way through. Really captures the fear and anxiety of the young soldiers, pilots and civilians caught up in the events. And the music accentuates that. It's heart pounding, visceral, adrenaline inducing. I normally finish my popcorn half way through a movie but I barely touched it last night as there was no respite. The sounds are so well done too. Every gunshot caused me and a lot of others to duck or jerk as they are basically jump scares that help build the suspense. The movie was only about an hour and a half I think but it grabs you straight from the first scene until the last.

Overall, can't recommend it high enough. If you love Nolan's work, historical films or just want to experience something that gets your emotions going at 110%, this is a definite watch.

P.S got a free shirt

Great review mate and agree with you on every point.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

Mother funkin Nolan
He occupy my movie top 10 like no other

he simply own it

 

[glenferry23]

Saw it last week and throughly enjoyed it, saw it at V-max without knowing it was 70mm so I may even catch it at Imax before it finishes its run, the sound was amazing, it needs to be LOUD!.
Loved the tension building. Restored my faith in mainstream cinema, good to see a blockbuster that wasnt super hero crap.

Having seen it twice now, once IMAX and once normal cinema, I absolutely and categorically recommend IMAX. Without question, there was simply no comparison for me.

The thumping sounds made it all the more epic, the visuals are next level. The dogfight scene was ridiculously good. And Zimmer's score during the oil slick scene had me as tense as I've ever been during a movie.

If you get the opportunity to see it again in IMAX, absolutely do it. I'll try and get there again before it's run ends.

 

[glenferry23]

This is the one I'm referring to, magnificent.

 

[djrossie16]

This is the one I'm referring to, magnificent.

i reckon Zimmer was influenced by some of Marco Beltrame's recent work like that of Logan. A very jarring sound excellent!

 

[glenferry23]

i reckon Zimmer was influenced by some of Marco Beltrame's recent work like that of Logan. A very jarring sound excellent!

Yes there are some similarities between them. I've always admired Zimmer's approach by taking real sounds and interweaving them through his scores. He's done that in most of his work, I recall for The Dark Knight Rises soundtrack he asked on social media for people to send him their recordings of themselves chanting.

The ticking clock throughout Dunkirk was apparently Nolan's pocket watch. The score of this film was something else. Insanely good.

 

[Judd2Sewell]

This is the one I'm referring to, magnificent.

Zimmer is the master

 

[Judd2Sewell]

That score is truly haunting. I feel like paranoia and fear is creeping in as I listen to it... Hans can really create mood/emotion through his music.