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Dunkirk

Alkali Ike

Alkali Ike

Gold Supporting Member
Jan 1, 2011
2,853
15,658
Pacific Northwest
www.xdrguy.com
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I never actually learned to play very well
#1
This is a truly great piece of filmmaking, at least technically. Unconventional storytelling. One of the most unpleasant movie viewing experiences of my life. Very visceral. I saw it in IMAX (digital, not film). Possibly the most painfully loud movie of all time. But I guess that's part of the intended effect. War is loud.

I can't really recommend it. Not for everyone. Yet it's kind of a must-see.

Share your reactions. Speak in clipped sentences, or not. :)
 
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#7
MJ5150 said:
The violence doesn't bother me as much as the feelings I get of anger/hate/animosity towards the 'enemy'.

-Mike
Click to expand...

It's fairly benign in that regard too. This is more about the hellish situation of 400,000 troops desperately waiting and hoping to be evacuated.
 
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#8
The guy reviewing it for NPR pointed out that 95 out of 100 lines of dialogue were cut off by an explosion or gunfire...much like in the real world.
Kenneth Durant gave it very high marks for emotional authenticity...And called it very hard to watch.
I think I remember him using the words 'gut wrenching'.

Me?
I read the book.
 
#9
I wanted to see this one, but then I watched "Silence" at home. That was 160 minutes of wrenching slow motion dissonant agony. I had to pause it several times and walk around a bit. I'm not sure I can take too much film intensity at once, and by "at once" I mean "two in the same decade."
 
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#10
We saw it yesterday; its a very good film. Excellent acting, tremendous editing. A story like this can actually be uplifting in how it shows the triumph of Human Spirit. It was amazing how the English rallied to get the job done.

When I was in England, I visited a Church that had been bombed, then re-built during the War. It made me realize that unlike the US (except for 9/11 and current acts of terrorism) England underwent a horrible siege by the Axis. Not recent, but not ancient history either.
There are fewer and fewer survivors of that era everyday. The resolve that generation showed, Dunkirk, D-Day, etc. was epic.

The film did a very fine job of illustrating that.
 
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#13
I haven't seen the film yet but intend to. I've heard lots of first hand stories over the years as my family are originally from the Kent coast. One that has always concerned me is that of a lifeboat crew who refused to go as there was no promise of compensation should anything happen to them. I believe their boat was requisitioned and crewed by the Royal Navy for the operation. I'll bet this isn't portrayed in the movie?
 
#14
C-60 Bass said:
I haven't seen the film yet but intend to. I've heard lots of first hand stories over the years as my family are originally from the Kent coast. One that has always concerned me is that of a lifeboat crew who refused to go as there was no promise of compensation should anything happen to them. I believe their boat was requisitioned and crewed by the Royal Navy for the operation. I'll bet this isn't portrayed in the movie?
Click to expand...

This is depicted in the movie, though the details play out slightly differently.
 
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#15
I think it has a couple glaring flaws, but it was a very good movie. See it on IMAX if you can.

It has a good number of difficult to watch parts, but overall it is a much easier watch than Fire at Sea, The Look of Silence, or The Act of Killing (all brilliant docs that I doubt I will watch a second time)
 
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#18
murphy said:
Saw it yesterday...Found it traumatizing ....
Told my Mother to not see it

Not a dry eye in theater

Great movie....But watch at your own peril....Do not watch if you suffer from PTSD
Click to expand...

I didn't sleep well last night and today I feel drained. I think it's from the movie.

ZenG said:
Anybody ever tried using those musician ear plugs when you go to a theater that uses a sound system that plays a movie soundtrack above the threshhold of pain?
Click to expand...

I was wishing I'd had some during this movie. It was that loud.
 
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#19
This is the kind of film for me that, once seen, makes me go over the various scenes again & again. IMO, that's the mark of a very well-done work, not just a "Summer Blockbuster" release, obviously.

So many examples of great scenes & shots- The Pilot being rescued from his sinking aircraft by the kid bashing the cockpit open w/ his oar, the very end when the Pilot lands and is immediately apprehended by Germans, the drawn-out scene where the two soliders carry the stretcher all that way...

Heavy stuff. Terrific acting, cinematography, editing, and script. Not your John Wayne adventure War Movie that's for sure.

Oscars, anyone??
 
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#20
Alkali Ike said:
This is a truly great piece of filmmaking, at least technically. Unconventional storytelling. One of the most unpleasant movie viewing experiences of my life. Very visceral. I saw it in IMAX (digital, not film). Possibly the most painfully loud movie of all time. But I guess that's part of the intended effect. War is loud.

I can't really recommend it. Not for everyone. Yet it's kind of a must-see.

Share your reactions. Speak in clipped sentences, or not. :)
Click to expand...

I saw it Friday night in an IMAX theater. It was really loud. And yes, war can be loud, but often the dialog was competing with the score and coming out on the losing end.

I'd been eagerly anticipating this movie for months.

The different time scales of the different story lines took some getting used to.
 
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