With Dunkerque , Nolan abandons the SF, the high-concept films and the mental labyrinths ... for what by the fact? A real warrior blockbuster? A Soldier Ryan on the Opal Coast? Not really, no.
Emma Thomas: " Dunkirk is a film about the survival, hope and experience of war. "
Christopher Nolan: " It's less a war movie than a survival drifted by suspense. I wanted to be in the present moment, to find the immediate intensity to share the experience of these soldiers. The film recounts a series of paradoxical situations. The most obvious: the army is stuck on this beach and must cross the Channel to return to England. But from there, there are others: will a soldier succeed in reaching the mole? Will the pilot be able to carry out his mission? And the film focuses on suspense sequences that are reduced to a human dimension. "
This right here is why Dunkirk has the potential to become the greatest war epic to date.
It's a pure and primal story about survival, not a blood-and-gore-fest that every war movie since Saving Private Ryan has used as a crutch to repeat the same tired old "war is hell" preaching.
"You are in a dream" in Inception. "Some men just want to watch the world burn" Dark Knight... From Memento to Inception or Interstellar, at Nolan the big scenes and situations often go through dialogue or voice-over. We talk to Christopher Nolan. A lot. But not in Dunkirk...
Lee Smith: "The editing was more complicated because there is little dialogue"
Christopher Nolan: "The empathy for the characters has nothing to do with their story. I did not want to go through the dialogue, tell the story of my characters. The problem is not who they are, who they claim to be or where they come from. The only question I was interested in was: Will they get out of it? Will they be killed by the next bomb while trying to join the mole? Or will they be crushed by a boat crossing?"
This is so important. We won't get a lot of information about the background of the characters. They're just there on the beach for example and we're with them, trying to survive.
I may be reaching, but I have the feeling that the way Nolan uses to make us know the characters of the film will be incredibly effective. The fact that we begin straight in the middle of chaos with the characters and that their only hope is to survive and to go back home... That's really beautiful.
Thanks so much for translating! Really interested to see how this film plays out. The way he's describing the 3 points of view makes me think of the end of Rises where Nolan shows us Gordon's experience, Alfred's experience, Blake's experience all separately only to come to a final culmination at the end with a nod from Wayne. Only difference in Dunkirk is the characters won't know each other so it may be even tougher to build that emotional connection to them. Really interested to see how he does it!
jetsdude wrote:Thanks so much for translating! Really interested to see how this film plays out. The way he's describing the 3 points of view makes me think of the end of Rises where Nolan shows us Gordon's experience, Alfred's experience, Blake's experience all separately only to come to a final culmination at the end with a nod from Wayne. Only difference in Dunkirk is the characters won't know each other so it may be even tougher to build that emotional connection to them. Really interested to see how he does it!
The characters will get to know eachother! That's the cool thing about the structure.
The guys on the beach - Fionn, Aneurin, Harry - end up on the Moonstone little ship manned by Rylance, Tom GC and Barry. And Lowden, who plays a pilot, joins too.
The film starts with their individual perspectives, but they all end up on the same ship.
Havoc1st wrote:I spent a lot of time reviewing the silent films. For crowd scenes. The way extras move, evolve, how the space is staged and how the cameras capture it, the views used. Reviewing intolerance , L'Aurore or the Hill has been an essential and nutritious exercise.
I know of Intolerance of course. L'Aurore is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. What is The Hill?
Havoc1st wrote:I spent a lot of time reviewing the silent films. For crowd scenes. The way extras move, evolve, how the space is staged and how the cameras capture it, the views used. Reviewing intolerance , L'Aurore or the Hill has been an essential and nutritious exercise.
I know of Intolerance of course. L'Aurore is Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans. What is The Hill?
The Beguiled. Interesting fact: a remake of The Beguiled is coming out this year, directed by Sophia Coppola.
