LogFAQs > #922313019

#196. Dunkirk
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/en/1/15/Dunkirk_Film_poster.jpg
Dir: Christopher Nolan
Genre: War
Year: 2017

Dunkirk is probably the most underappreciated of Nolan's films thus far. Coming fresh off of the hype of The Dark Knight trilogy and the visual spectacle of Interstellar, I think the expectations for his next film might have been a bit skewed. Instead of making a frenetic, action-packed war movie, he instead opted to make a realistic tribute to the British soldiers (and sailors) who pulled off one of the most harrowing feats in military history.

Dunkirk doesn't feel like a Christopher Nolan film, and I like it better for it. The drama of the film is in the lack of the story--we are simply following select people as they attempt to escape certain death. What shines because of it isn't the drama of individual people, but the collective experience of the forces. And this is evident in the sound design, which I would argue is the best that has ever been put to film--at least certainly for a war movie. It makes you feel immersed in the battle, drowning along with the sailors or a fly on the wall for the soldiers engaged in battle. I don't think most people understood that this was the intention, but I am hoping this film's legacy will increase over time.
---

"A more mature answer than I expected."~ Jakyl25
"Sephy's point is right."~ Inviso