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Dunkirk is everything you’d expect from 21st-century Hollywood. There’s plenty of action, some epic panoramas, and more than one plotline crafted to tug the heartstrings. Add in (another) superb score from Hans Zimmer, and Dunkirk is everything Hollywood tells us we want. But although it is viscerally stimulating, Dunkirk lacks depth, meaning and substance. There’s no historical context, nothing to stimulate or challenge the intellect, nothing meaningful to take away. For a film so obviously connected to an explicit historical event, there is a surprising dearth of history. May 1940 was arguably the most important month of World War ii, one that included other momentous developments. Yet Dunkirk somehow fails to explore the broader significance of the rescue of more than 330,000 Allied soldiers, and it fails to convey, even faintly, the colossal stakes of Operation Dynamo for Britain, France, Germany and, indeed, humanity.
The biggest disappointment, and the least surprising, was the failure to highlight the miracles that surrounded Operation Dynamo. For me, Dunkirk ranks in the top five on the list of Britain’s all-time greatest miracles. The most incredible facet of Dunkirk doesn’t relate to one event. Rather, it’s the fact that three highly unlikely events converged at exactly the right time.
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My wife and I watched the movie "Dunkirk" a few days ago. We thought it was very good. I had read reviews that said the musical score was much too loud, but I did not find that to be true. I don't think the director captured the scale or duration of the evacuation. With nearly 500,000 trapped people the beaches would have been mobbed, but it wasn't portrayed that way. I think anyone not familiar with the event would assume, from the movie, that the evacuation was over in a day when it actually took over a week. However, these are minor points and the film did capture the desperation of the troops and the heroism of those who sailed to Dunkirk to rescue them.
ReplyDeleteWe attended a matinee (at Emerald Isle, NC) and the theater was pretty full. We were surprised at how many people attended on a decent beach day. I was also surprised at how many young people attended. I think they received a solid lesson in history.
Where do you live? I go to the pier everyday about 5 for a few hours.
DeleteNear the Silver Creek Golf Course. Peletier, more or less.
DeleteI tried to share a famous poem, "DUNKIRK, A BALLAD" by Robert Nathan, written in 1942, which I remember from my childhood, but it is too long to be accepted in your comment section.
ReplyDeleteSo, please go to my FACEBOOK page, and scroll down until you see it there.
Debbie Schlussel did not like this movie, because she thought it didn't show who was attacking the British troops, i.e., the Nazis.
Also, the French are outraged because they are snubbed, not being portrayed in the movie, despite the fact that they were there.
Do you remember the largest evacuation by boat in history?
It happened in New York City on Tuesday 11 September 2001.
Bigger than the Boat People?
DeleteHitler's BIG mistake. What was he thinking.
ReplyDeleteEvidently he was under the impression that there was going to be a surrender and treaty.
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