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Dunkirk (2017)
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Dunkirk (2017)
Director: Christopher Nolan
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance
Genre: War, Action, History
Writer: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance
Genre: War, Action, History
'Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France are surrounded by the German Army, and evacuated during a fierce battle in World War II.'
Watched this last night on the small screen...my TV. Well it's small compared to an IMAX screen where Christopher Nolan's latest film Dunkirk is best seen. No denying that this is a strongly visual film that captures the vastness of the Dunkirk evacuation on a grand scale.
That screen shot above was one of my favorite scenes. Just prior to that image was an ultra wide angle shot that looked down the long beach at Dunkirk where many 1000's of British soldiers laid ducking for cover on the exposed beach...in the distances there's a German bomber dropping bombs on the hapless men. The bombs were so far away that the solider in the foreground appears safely removed from the explosions, and yet we can see these little specks of men in the background being vaporized by the bombs...It's all so impersonal, and it's all so far away as to show how random dying in war really is.
There's many well staged scenes like that, showing great depth of physical dimension that then relays the vastness of the Dunkirk evacuation. The film is so visual that someone has done a fan edit and turned Dunkirk into a very effective B&W silent film, complete with title cards.
Like I said, on the big screen this must be impressive. But the film's visual strength and the director's choice of not getting up close and personal with the characters, makes for an unemotionally engaging film. I did appreciate it for the visual scope and I applaud the director for thinking outside of the box, but I can tell the movie won't be staying with me.
That screen shot above was one of my favorite scenes. Just prior to that image was an ultra wide angle shot that looked down the long beach at Dunkirk where many 1000's of British soldiers laid ducking for cover on the exposed beach...in the distances there's a German bomber dropping bombs on the hapless men. The bombs were so far away that the solider in the foreground appears safely removed from the explosions, and yet we can see these little specks of men in the background being vaporized by the bombs...It's all so impersonal, and it's all so far away as to show how random dying in war really is.
There's many well staged scenes like that, showing great depth of physical dimension that then relays the vastness of the Dunkirk evacuation. The film is so visual that someone has done a fan edit and turned Dunkirk into a very effective B&W silent film, complete with title cards.
Like I said, on the big screen this must be impressive. But the film's visual strength and the director's choice of not getting up close and personal with the characters, makes for an unemotionally engaging film. I did appreciate it for the visual scope and I applaud the director for thinking outside of the box, but I can tell the movie won't be staying with me.
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