Dunkirk Nolan Fans Member Reviews (NFometer)

The 2017 World War II thriller about the evacuation of British and Allied troops from Dunkirk beach.
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Its mostly worth the praise it has gotten but as an experience it didn't blow me away like half of Nolan's other work has. Its great feat is that it seems, from what I can imagine, extremely realistic which is the best way to honor the event. You can't really top the way the aerial scenes were shot. From the ground those dive bombers were extremely effective at eliciting terror as well as establishing the technological advantages the other side had. The spatially and temporally converging plot lines worked pretty well since they highlighted the gravity of the subtle decisions made in the three storylines. Kafka's "A Little Fable" seems to best represent the mole, which Nolan has described as a Kafaesque nightmare (https://www.google.com/amp/amp.usatoday ... 490854001/). Also, the shivering soldier, who told the young soldiers to just deal with hanging around in the water after getting torpedoed in that night scene, resembles all of the pathetic authority figures in Kafka's stories who undergo role reversals.

The amount of characterization/dialogue wasn't a problem but in spite of the standing ovation I sat through, and the critical reaction in general, I don't think the climax was strong enough as a balancing force for me to say that this is in the running to be Nolan's best work. For now it seems like Paths of Glory remains my favorite war movie but hopefully this'll grow on me some more.

9/10
Last edited by dafox on July 27th, 2017, 6:53 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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An immense, virtuoso effort. It as if Nolan has synthesised all the elements of his previous features into one basically perfect concoction, the most filmic effort of his career and it could be argued, his greatest effort. Again the Fordian aspects are the ones on display visually and in the script - the brilliant implication of horror rather than the explicit realisation of it, the astonishing use of negative space, and the Fordian lies apparent in the screenplay, particularly in the Shivering Soldier strand are both a great callback to classic while being progressive in the immersive modernity of the final package.

Basically I'm stunned by the choices; the film is constantly surprising which is to be expected from Nolan, but then the propulsive forward momentum of his previous films had always been driven by plot. Here it's driven by theme. Featuring two scenes from the other story strands midway through the Rylance/Murphy verbal throwdown is an astonishing editing choice that was wholly effective. It's been described as a tightrope act and that's a great description - so much of what happens is jarring and disorientating, and yet it all feels perfectly natural.

Tommy is immediately one of Nolan's most fascinating and involving protagonists - we get the overall gist of his choices but he is unconventional, idiosyncratic. An Englishman through and through. Even among the most acclaimed work of the modern era characters are typically unmoving - everything is in service of "plot" character development, and characters are either brave or cowardly. History tells us that people are often both. History, or general observance of the world around you shows that people change their minds, sometimes in the course of a minute. And that is why this is such a superb screenplay... the people behave like people, rather than embodying a list of descriptors. What a brilliant way to commemorate such a stunning effort of community, of ordinary people in insane situations (so perhaps the film is chock full of Jim Gordon's, in a way).

The way that it is a testament to the effort without being jingoistic is another real heist on Nolan's part.
The look on Hardy's face says so much in any number of ways. It's a victory, and it's a loss. It's noble sacrifice and it's also a short-sighted waste. Also Nolan's brilliant fake-out not quite last shot of the burning Spitfire... the shape of things to come. And then the true, very surprising final shot. Probably my favourite final shot of Nolan's films.
I mean, it is without shadow of a doubt a 10/10 and I can't wait to see it again. And Spitfire pilots are the coolest people of all time. And Stukas scare me.
Only complaint is Hardy saving Branagh. The only Hollywood moment of the film.

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I was silently sort of dreading the moment Armand would start shitting on this to ruin our party

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Glad to see Armand giving it a perfect score.

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Loved it. My first 6/5 for the year!

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Out of curiousity, how many other films from this decade do you consider to be 10/10 Armand

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Master Virgo wrote:Out of curiousity, how many other films from this decade do you consider to be 10/10 Armand
It seems to be 13 but some require a re-watch and a revision.

My top 10 of the decade thus far:

The Social Network
Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy
Dunkirk
Skyfall
Exit Through the Gift Shop
La La Land
Inside Llewyn Davis
Zero Dark Thirty
Inside Out
Margaret

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The genius of Nolan in Dunkirk

We get 3 perspectives and each perspective has individuals which provide a collective summary of all that happened in Dunkirk. Its genius storytelling . you don't need to know the personal lives of the individuals portrayed because their experiences fear and emotions are a collective of the 400000 men the sea farers and the airmen all in one movie . this is why the focus is not on the individuals but their actions because if the focus would be on individuals they would become the singular protagonists in the movie and it would be their journey. Instead this is a collective summary journey of all the men on that beach who some died some captured and some escaped and who lived for another day to give their lives and their heart for UK and win back Europe from fascism. This is why we are getting so many perfect scores because we have never seen anything like it

This is his best movie and so far his Magnum Opus

10/10
Last edited by hasanahmad on July 23rd, 2017, 10:27 am, edited 1 time in total.

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Powerful, intense, riveting, emotional, and with a great score, great photography, compelling plot and timeline structure, this was a unique war thriller from Nolan.
Once the gunshots started near the start of the film,
I was pinned back to my theater seat, which was literally shaking/vibrating throughout the movie due to the amazing sound system they had. This film was emotional for me because:
When George delivers the lines that he always wanted to be somebody and do something special - and then ends up dying from the Shivering Soldier's aggressive moment, but ends up in the newspaper as a "hero" - all told with Nolan's restrained style - this film seems it will only get richer over time with repeated viewings.
I loved the way the film starts - haunting, interesting, so powerfully with the sound design and atmosphere. I believe this is destined to be a classic...

:gonf: 10 out of 10 for me - for Dunkirk :gonf:

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10/10 for me, up there with my favourite Nolan films Memento & The Prestige, Interstellar is the only Nolan film I truly dislike, didn't get pulled into it at all, technically brilliant yes but it did nothing for me at all.

Whereas Dunkirk probably the most profoundly emotional and immersive expereinces I've had on the big screen, this is extraordinary cinema.

I only saw it on a standard screen, no IMAX or 70mm and I was blown away. All performances are quality although Rylance is a stand out and Hardy boy that guy says more with his eyes than most say full stop.

Nice to see Chris still managed to get his good luck charm since Batman Begins in there,
not sure who spotted but that is Michael Caine on the other end of Farrier's radio
Also Zimmer's score was integral to it all with that ticking device to build the tension from the beginning, touches of Herrrman in there I detected.

The 3 different events and the use of time is progression of what Nolan has been doing since Memento and it really makes this stand out, it was brave to do this but it works beautifully I've noticed some on other forums like MI6 I'm a member of saying they felt that there was no central character to concentrate and why couldn't it all been done linear, totally missing the point.

If he doesn't get best director and this take best picture it will be disservice to what he's done. Shows Cameron you can deal with historical moments and just tell the story and not have to tack on a schmaltzy unconvincing love story.

Makes me wonder how Nolan would have dealt with a film about the Titanic, the sea bound moments were miles ahead of anything in that wretched film.

Nolan for me is the most important blockbuster film maker since Spielberg was in his prime 1975 - 1981. He raised the bar with TDK and once again he's done it again.

That final fly over and Farrier's fate were so beautifully done, just masterful, loved it, the last time I felt so exhilerated on the big screen was with Hardy again and Fury Road both films leave you exhausted but in a good way, who needs 3D when you have these 2 masterpieces doing what they do in 2D.

Only one nigggle some of the dialogue was a bit ripe but when all else is so on point why grumble.

Once again in Nolan we trust.
Last edited by Teslashelby on July 23rd, 2017, 5:57 pm, edited 1 time in total.

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