Dunkirk - Survive at all Costs.

Rating: 9/10 (24 February 2018)

Definitely a one of a kind interpretation of the events that led to the WW11 evacuation of the beach at Dunkirk. War is wasteful and devastating (but also grotesquely profitable for some!) and political leaders of all persuasions gravitate towards it as a means to an end or for ultimate greed. Quite surprisingly the limited dialogue approach works well enough and allows the events that make up these harrowing stories to unravel at their own pace. It won't be for everyone, especially those who have a liking for conventional style war movies featuring individual heroes of the day. If anything, it pays homage to ALL those who suffered at the hands of the tyrannical force that destroyed so much within people's lives across Europe.
Striking aerial footage puts the viewer in the cockpit and forces us to share the fear and isolation of one to one combat in the skies. No-one escapes the carnage and if you do just happen to survive - it may never be the same for you again. Then, waiting for you on the other side was another war - for the home front!
Yes, its approach is different but, successful for those who can think in terms of survival amid a terrible historic event. The almost mechanical music-soundscape adds to the eerie atmosphere - with this then made quite perfect by the carefully measured strains of Elgar, adding the right touch of civic pride, to highlight the remarkable arrival of the life-risking civilian small-craft flotilla. It's also pleasing to find an Epic that does not feel the need to outstay its welcome.