Sobering and captivating

Rating: 10/10 (28 July 2017)

28 July 2017 Film of Choice at The Plaza Dorchester Tonight - Dunkirk. This is a name everyone has heard of, how the allied troops were forced north onto the beaches and how a grand flotilla of small boats went and rescued them, but how many people have really sat down and thought about what actually happened. Films often romanticise war, and it's not always their fault, stories transferred to the big screen often make heroes where there are none and hide true heroes in the background. That is not the case with this film......Christopher Nolan has written and produced a masterpiece. The raw edgy style of cinematography draws you in from the very beginning and you feel yourself running alongside these soldiers, sitting in the back seat of the spitfire willing the bullets to find their mark, and on board the small vessels urging their engines to go faster and get the job done. The film is full of heroes, not just the pilots or the skippers, but every single fighting man, played by actors representing real people, in a very real and terrible situation. I thought the way the film jumped between the three main parts of the story was captivating, I found myself getting immersed in each bit, not wanting to leave but eager to jump to the next part to see how that group of people were faring. There was very little in the way of blood flying around, but that in no way lessened the impact of the horror of war, and the desperation these men must have felt as they tried again and again to get off the beach and head for home. There were no fanfares, no trumpets, just a quiet satisfaction of job done and a sadness for all those who didn't survive. An excellent job from Christopher Nolan.