A big disappointment

Rating: 6/10 (3 February 2018)

I wasn't alive when Dunkirk happened so it is difficult to assess the realism of the events depicted in this film even if it would be better called "Dunkirk - an impression". Clearly there was no real story line beyond the fact of the evacuation but it was unclear why the 1 hour flight, the 1 day boat and the 1 week on the beach needed to be highlighted since, by then interweaving the separate dramas and adopting almost dream sequences by the end, any difference was unimportant.
I am sure people behaved stupidly, badly and irrationally as well as heroically but seeing navy ships moored in the middle of the channel and then being bombed seemed beyond ridiculous. And, given the efforts to create realism, putting the rescued soldiers in 1960s British Railway coaches really jarred.
As for the "music"! I am a great admirer of Hans Zimmer but with the planes, the boats and the sea, it really didn't need the pounding, ear-splitting noises that he created to accompany sinking boats and bombed soldiers. The only bit I liked was the brief quote from "Nimrod" at the end while the Spitfire was on its magic glide.
I understood the film was episodic and had many changes of time and I could follow those, but it never seemed to catch the overall reality of this awesome event. I was really hoping for more, much more.