Dunkirk (2017)

[MmzHrrdb]

Dunkirk is perhaps Christopher Nolan's most technically accomplished film. The complicated camera shots, practical effects, and a minimal screenplay to emphasize the visual story-telling are masterfully accomplished. And while non-linear narratives are not anything to new to Nolan's oeuvre, the way it's used in Dunkirk is downright brilliant. On an emotional level, some audiences might find this to be Nolan's most challenging film to grasp. The runtime is (refreshingly) brief at just 100 minutes, which combined with the sparse use of dialogue, means the characters are not as obviously defined as in Nolan's other talkier films. But the character development is absolutely still there, and frankly even if it wasn't, Dunkirk is such an astonishing spectacle that it's hard to imagine too many viewers being unengaged.

One thing worth noting is the use of Hans Zimmer's score. Many film critics have been quick to call it an ingenious score and one of the film's great achievements. On the other hand, soundtrack collectors have dubbed it one of Zimmer's worst in decades (and perhaps of all time). Zimmer's score for Dunkirk is undoubtedly unpleasant, and probably unlistenable. It lacks much melody or musical qualities, and one might even question if it can be considered music. But that's exactly it. As evidenced by minimal scores in other Nolan films (particularly The Prestige), Nolan seems to enjoy the benefits of film music, but he doesn't actually want music in his films. He wants the mood-setting and the heightened suspense and the implied-emotions that film music can create, but he doesn't want music. There is nothing terribly wrong with this. And when viewed through that lens, Zimmer's score does exactly what it needs to do. Those calling it ingenious are off the mark; there's nothing terribly unique or innovative about anti-music in film. Those calling it one of Zimmer's worst are only justified when regarding the score as actual music (or listening to it outside of film, something that is grossly unadvised for a score like this). This score meets the needs of the film, occasionally excelling, and occasionally inflicting unexpected harm on the film.

The use of a pocket watch throughout the score, for instance, is cliched and often inappropriately used, but in some moments is put to intelligent application. There is at least one occassion where the orchestra distortion is so odd sounding and so loudly mixed that it becomes distracting, which is nearly a death-kneel to a film where total and utter immersion is required and implemented from the start. One moment of triumph finds a wonderful balance between recognizable melody and Nolan's restrained preferences, and this snippet of score will likely garner the most mainstream attention. But damningly, it uses (credited) strains from classical composer Edward Elgar and it's all arranged by fellow film composer Benjamin Wallfisch (according to the film's credits). In other words; the most musical (and arguably powerful) part of the score had nothing to do with Hans Zimmer!

At any rate, it's a whole lot of fuss for a film score that basically just does what it needs to do and little else. The more interesting discussion lies in its reception, revealing the closed-mindedness of soundtrack collectors and the gimmick-gullible film critics that praise any unorthodox scores to gently rumble and atonally explode in their general direction. Short of eligibility rules disqualifying it, Dunkirk will nab an Oscar nomination for its score (and might even win). It's a nice testament that film scores can be whatever they need to be, and shouldn't just be confined to sound recognizable as "music." But at the same time, too many people on both sides of the equation are frequently too quick to laud or shun a score before actually considering its applications and benefits to see how it really operates. In the case of Dunkirk, it's fine.

The film is excellent.

Score: 8/10

[Stewball]

Conceptually brilliant, but punctuated with shallow melodrama, and tied up with an erratic, confusing ending. Disappointed in Nolan. I can't believe this has been criticized for not having a diverse enough cast. Enough with the PC BS.

[sabysims]

One of the worst films Ive ever seen for the ckass, budget and class its in. Production props and scene extras populating seems to show a desire to save money in a very cheap way which is surprising for the budget it shoulf have.
Storyline, character building and script is cliche and descends into tackiness quite often. No drama building and fies not engage the audience, I got sodetachedI started calculating the prop budget they tried to save.
Score is annoying though it does work for some brief moments such as the dog fights.
The broken timelines and rollbacks is off putting..
Kenneth Branagh, Fiennes, all wasted by the script,
Always have been moved by the Dunkirk story, both documentaries and old newsreels, Chris Nolan has done them a disservice.
Saving Private Ryan, Platoon, Letters from Iwo Jima, Hacksaw Ridge, even Tora tora tora are classic quality war films that move and impress, Dunkirk is not even in the same class.
Of course its Box Office, but so was Katy Perry and Justin Bieber's films..