Generally stay away from knowing anything about movies but reading that little quote, is it about getting the English soldiers over the channel when the Germans were pressing into France through Belgium? I just recently read about that ordeal and how much the Royal Airforce did to save to those soldiers whilst the soldiers themselves were cursing them for "not doing anything" because they didn't see them.
Dunkirk - Christopher Nolan's next film
- Thread starter Nikhil
- Start date
Generally stay away from knowing anything about movies but reading that little quote, is it about getting the English soldiers over the channel when the Germans were pressing into France through Belgium? I just recently read about that ordeal and how much the Royal Airforce did to save to those soldiers whilst the soldiers themselves were cursing them for "not doing anything" because they didn't see them.
Yeah, that is what happened in Dunkirk. The soldiers were already demoralised after the defeat in France. They were forced to retreat to the beaches. They were there for a long time and thought that they were being kept there to die and the RAF wasn't doing enough to help them. But of course, we all know the tremendous effort that went into the Operation.
Also, since Dunkirk is a WWII film, there isn't anything to really stay away from before watching the movie. We all know what happens and how it happens. I do wonder what exactly the German High Command were telling the Panzer division to do in March - June 1940 though. I think the Germans by then were concentrating on planning to attack the Eastern Front and the Blitz and had kept their North Africa and France plans on hold.
What a brilliant movie. Loved the way the movie flows through seamlessly. In my opinion, truly a great movie that will surely stand through the test of time.
Edit: Watching it at Imax just was fantastic.
Edit: Watching it at Imax just was fantastic.
Just watched it on IMAX. It's a stunning experience all-round. The visuals, sound effects and the POV shifts made for a very intense atmosphere throughout. It's objectively a great film from a technical standpoint. It feels like something's missing though. The lack of characters and dialogue, while certainly intentional, leaves you with a film that's purely a visual and sensory experience but not much more.
The reasons why the Germans stopped their push for about 48 hours was because their panzer division had gone way ahead of their infantry which left both squadrons more exposed than they liked. It was also a matter of fuel running out if they kept at it at the same pace.
Those 2 days gave the British just enough time to evacuate.
That's what I read from an historian who showed proper sources.
I know what you mean. But strangely I liked it more for those reasons. It was a different movie. For a blockbuster had a very unique feel to it. And was very poignant. Really enjoyed it. It won't be universally liked by audiences I imagine despite the positive critics reviews.
Just watched it. Nodded off...twice for short periods. Definitely not nearly Nolan's best work, in fact it may be one of his least impressive films.
Loved the new Star Wars trailer though....
Loved the new Star Wars trailer though....
Just walked out of the cinema. It's a masterpiece. Stunning.
Not really sure how anyone can fall asleep in it, it was one of the most tense films I've seen.
Where was the tension ?
Brilliant film but it is being overhyped I think. The scenes are so intense and so well done but I'm not sure about the chronological shifting in it. Seemed like complexity for the sake of it.
Harry Styles wasn't great either.
Harry Styles wasn't great either.
If you go for this without reading the reviews, you'll absolutely love it. Going into it having read it being praised to the heavens, it does leave you a bit disappointed and underwhelmed but it's still a super movie. The plane scenes in IMAX were worth the entry fee alone.
It's more of a survival film than a hardcore warm film for me.
Edgy
It's exclusively a survival thriller. The war is just used as a set. Proclaiming it "the best war drama" is way off the mark for me. It's not even in the same category.
Yeah I don't know how it comes in the war category. It's a great survival movie.
Always the case and you see that pretty much in every thread on here. In fact:
The sound in this was incredible, wouldn't mind seeing it again on an IMAX screen though.
Tbh there are lots of movies I've seen where the reviews have lived up to expectations. The reviews here saying it's Nolan's best movie and Oscar for the year etc and plus ofcourse, being a Nolan movie, meant I had supremely high expectations from it.
Thought that was fantastic. Probably the best Nolan film I've seen - certainly his most mature anyway. Often his pitfall is spoonfeeding audiences with expository dialogue, but this goes fairly minimal on dialogue and as a result ends up mostly being better for it.
It's one for seeing in the cinema since the sheer noise added to the tension a lot.
I'd say it's main drawback probably comes from the fact that because we largely know what happens due to history etc, a lot of the investment relies on the characters involved, and as is often the case in war movies it can be quite hard to develop them substantially. It does so eventually as the plot threads link together effectively but takes a while to get there.
It's one for seeing in the cinema since the sheer noise added to the tension a lot.
I'd say it's main drawback probably comes from the fact that because we largely know what happens due to history etc, a lot of the investment relies on the characters involved, and as is often the case in war movies it can be quite hard to develop them substantially. It does so eventually as the plot threads link together effectively but takes a while to get there.
Yup, history needs new writers. 
The last paragraph is pretty much my problem with it. There's little connection between audience and characters throughout the entire film.
I think it struggles with that early on but gradually develops it as the film moves on. Onshore, the conflict between Styles' character and the Frenchman when they're stuck in the boat was fairly tense and presented two interesting varied POV's that had me gripped: could understand both perspectives and the desperation as well.
The storyline on the boat was probably my favourite though: Rylance put in a fantastic performance and Murphy's effective as the soldier with PTSD.
I was lost the first time round I watched it. The different time threads threw me off at first. Watched it a second time, and it was a brilliant experience.
I think I'd have to watch it on IMAX next.
I think I'd have to watch it on IMAX next.
Just seen it and found it both brilliant and harrowing. I don't know how anyone can think there's a disconnect between the characters and the audience, the fear and the desperation of the characters really bought out a lot of feelings in me.
But for the grace of god I wasn't born 80 years earlier. Jesus.
But for the grace of god I wasn't born 80 years earlier. Jesus.
I unfortunately missed the first ten minutes of the movie, so I couldn't really get my head around it. So my review of it is not worth much. The visuals were great, but I just felt it was a bit flat. No Proper tension except for a few moments and there is no true empathy towards any character except maybe the boat/yacht scenes. a decent 6/10 for me.
Same. I think it worked precisely due to absence of any Hollywood inspired backstory about any of the soldiers ala SPR. I also disagree that it is not a war movie, it is very much one which just focusses on viewpoint/arc of the people on the frontlines rather than one at the back making strategic decisions.
The "fear and desperation" weren't adequately brought out imo because there were no discernable lead characters - neither protagonists or antagonists. This makes the actions of various actors emotionally inaccessible to the audience. Great to see Nolan's mystique from prior films is filling in the gaps though....
Saw it at an IMAX theater yesterday. Some absolutely stunningly gorgeous scenes, especially when in the air from Hardy's viewpoint. Good movie, but odd in the sense that very little actual fighting with the enemy is shown except for aerial dogfights. In fact, you don't see the faces of German soldiers until the very last scene. So not really a war movie for me as the entire focus was about retreating and running away.
Another extremely overrated Nolan film. No idea why it's getting such absurd praise. Visually superb and a great background score, but it was far too incoherent, lacking in storytelling and importantly characters or dialogue of any note, to be a great film let alone the masterpiece the hyperbole would have one believe. Good film but sorely lacking in some areas.
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Agree with this. I usually love Nolan's films but this one was definitely on the lower end of the spectrum. Oddly enough, I didn't like Interstellar as much as I thought I would either.
His best 3 are still.
1. Inception
2. Memento
3. Prestige
There were times when what I was seeing in screen was a joy to look at. But no film with a big fat zero in terms of characters can be truly great IMO. And why was everyone forced to not speak? This would have been as good as the the praise if it nailed those two aspects. Nolan tries too hard to be cool/different/clever IMO.
I don't really get this criticism. The story itself isn't particularly incoherent; it's made patently clear at the start. There's the story on the beach, which takes place over the course of the week as the surrounded soldiers wait for their escape. There's the story on the sea, which takes place over the course of a day as the rescue effort reaches its final stage, and there's the story in the air, which takes place during the rescue act. It takes a while to understand if you forget being told it at the start, but once the film reaches its climax it seems pretty clear.
As for characters, there's plenty going on; the captain on the boat who refuses to turn back, and ends up losing a son as a result. The shellshocked soldier who kills him accidentally, and the other son who makes things easier for him by not telling him. On the beach there's the admiral who knows everyone is fecked but remains stoic and resilient all the same. There's the Frenchman who's trying to hide his identity as he does all he can to escape, and Harry Styles' character who catches him out and tries to force him to sacrifice himself.
The characterisation is deliberately bare since it's taking place in the midst of war, but I'd say it's still there and still manages to grip you as the film progresses. Not that the film's necessarily perfect, or doesn't have flaws, but certain criticisms seem fairly lazy.
What? No chance. Would have it as it his worst 2-3 films along with the likes of TDKR.
Yeah never really gotten the fuss. It's a fairly bog-standard thriller that's masking as something more with the whole "dream inside a dream" thing. I'll maybe need to rewatch it at some point but I don't remember ever thinking there was much depth within it.
As for his best, from what I've seen it'd be Dunkirk or TDK; the former's probably his most mature film I've seen but TDK is incredibly entertaining and probably the best film within that sort of comic book sub-genre. I've not seen his earlier work though so wouldn't be able to comment fully.
Inception is widely regarded as his best film by the masses, at least among the bigger budget films he's done.
I'd imagine Insomnia would be considered at the bottom. Dunkirk is definitely better than that.
BTW...he's doing a new version of Memento next year. Not sure how I feel about that since its his best work to date in terms of doing a lot with a very low budget.
That wasn't his son.
Everything about those characters can be summed by one paragraph of a post on redcafe. That's how much weight Nolan put into the "characters" in this film - none. I know it's deliberately that way. That's what makes the movie lesser than it could have been. These chaps never talk and are like random FM regens I.e completely uninteresting.
And I didn't say I didn't know the story I've just been told. Just that it was incoherent and could have been told better. Nolan often expects his audience to shift tracks as fast he does. He did in the dark night rises too. It's not that I'm not understanding it. I'm just not enjoying it or feeling it/the moment as much the director apparently is.
Objectively speaking it's still a good film. Just nothing special IMO. The criticisms are legitimate and just depend on what one values in a film. Thr visual and audio spectacle has only a superficial appeal to me.