Harrowing but uplifting.

Rating: 9/10 (28 December 2017)

As a WW2 history buff I already know the story of Dunkirk, and I can still remember the radio version of the Snow Goose from when I was growing up - but I've never seen the 1950s film.
Despite my interest in military history, or maybe because of it, I don't rate a lot of war movies very highly - a lot of people have describe Dunkirk as the best war movie since Saving Private Ryan, a movie I'd only give 5/10, and I've never liked the acting from the classics like Lawrence of Arabia (although I'll watch Zulu if it's on).
People obviously want different experiences, and a lot of the reviews here (ordered by helpfulness) are quite negative, but you've already seen that I've given Dunkirk 9/10 - here's why.
My first viewing of Dunkirk was one of the most emotional movie watching experiences I've ever had. I'll happily admit that I was influenced to a huge extent by the music and the "moments" - both aspects of the film that some others obviously hate. I really liked the way the divergent timelines, both in terms of chronology and pacing, gradually came together and how some minor details changed as perspective was added. It was great how land, sea and air were not only paced differently but scripted differently. The land was bleak and harrowing, where survival and escape took precedence over talking. The sea was the direction of hope, a place for reflection and understanding - "He's shell shocked George, he's not himself. He may never be himself again.". The air was businesslike and decisive - "He's on me." "I'm on him." - but also unashamedly heroic and uplifting, like when Farrier turns back knowing he will run out of fuel.
Dunkirk obviously wasn't perfect and I was a bit disappointed that the sense of scale was never really portrayed - it never seemed like there were hundreds of thousands of soldiers evacuated, or 800 small boats (mostly NOT crewed by their owners - but why adulterate the mythology) ferrying them off the beach.
But I loved the raw, visceral drama that ebbed and flowed as the stories played out - I was emotionally exhausted at the end of it. Maybe in part this was because I watched it with my grandfather who was a telegram boy in London at the time, so I felt a real connection to the people, time and place (incidentally Grandad didn't enjoy it as much as I did!!).
The key thing for me was that this was an experience, not just a movie, and while I can understand that some people would not have enjoyed it, it hit all the right buttons for me.