Suddenly Downfall feels like a kids' movie.
That sounds strange, but Downfall at least was a typical movie. By that I mean that it paced itself in such a way that we could explore the characters and see where they're coming from.
Well, Dunkirk is not that kind of movie. This is a very different kind of movie, one that is insanely difficult to pull off properly. This is not a story about characters and how they tick. The moment the film starts it cranks up the action to eleven until about the final six minutes. It does not allow you to digest what is happening right in front of you.
Christopher Nolan wanted to capture the terror and desperation that was a feature of the evacuation at Dunkirk in 1940. Does he succeed with this objective? Yes, I would say he did. You follow the British soldiers as they face enemy bombardment, choppy seas, and dwindling time while they await rescue from Navy-commandeered civilian boats. You feel the terror that the men felt during those tense hours, whether it's escaping a sinking ship or dodging enemy bullets. There is not much in the way of dialogue in this film, no speeches, or passing of photos, or anything of that nature. It's all the soldiers trying to get out of France and get back home to regroup. It's as if someone went back in time and installed cameras everywhere in order to capture the event in real time.
Unfortunately the biggest drawback to this method of storytelling is the sheer amount of nightmare fuel. War films are going to have frightening images anyway considering the very nature of war itself. But there are at least three instances of onscreen drownings, four cases of being killed by dive-bombers at point blank range, not to mention numerous deaths by explosions due to U-Boats and mines. Obviously this is not a movie for the faint of heart, let alone children.
Normally I would go on about how much of it was historically accurate, but I do not know very much about Dunkirk. I will have to back and research it again before I can make any judgments in that regard.
So how do I rate this film? As a well-thought-out story depicting the frantic hours of the Rescue at Dunkirk, I'd give it a 10 out 10. However, the sheer intensity of it means that you're at the edge of your seat virtually the whole time. So this isn't a film that I would rent for a movie night. In fact, I think this one is best appreciated seeing it once in the cinema. Trying to see it over and over again will most likely diminish the potency of the story.
