The Best Film of 2017?

Rating: 8/10 (25 November 2017)

As the year 2017 draws nearer to a close, I find myself looking back on the year that was in film. Two things stand out to me. One, it was very mediocre year for film. Hollywood is increasingly churning out "pabulum for the masses" in the way of high grossing superhero movies (I guess you can't fully blame them if that's all people want to see). And two, "Dunkrirk" stands out as one of the most memorable film experiences of the year.
I suppose seeing it in full IMAX helps in that regard (and you really missed out if you waited for DVD on this one). But more than that, "Dunkirk" stands out because it completed bucks the trend. In a day of CGI and blue screens, Nolan shot it all in old-school film. In a day where most people would have expected this film to be about gore and epic battles, Nolan went micro, focusing instead on a few individual stories, carefully interwoven, taken out of the overall battle for Dunkirk. And in a day where films are typically comprised of jump- cut editing, Nolan gives us long pans down beaches and along rows of men.
It's not a perfect film, and I think there's a certain level of "fanboyism" at play here in some of the reviews. I greatly disliked the loud and jarring soundtrack. Some of the acting was just OK, and Nolan completely failed to capture some of the historic realities of what actually occurred there. Notably, I don't think the true scope of the hundreds of thousands of men and thousands of pieces of equipment was captured. But then you have to go back to the point about either making a "film" or a "CGI-fest." Given that choice, I will gladly accept the former for what it is.
Barring some hidden gems I've overlooked, this will probably land in the #1 spot on my end of year list.