Dunkirk
22/07/17 Filed in: Cinema
We went to see Dunkirk yesterday on the day of its UK opening. It has received very positive reviews and in my opinion rightly so. This is not a war film in the usual genre, in that there is very little fighting. That is already over as we see thousands of troops waiting on a beach, in the vain and it would appear rapidly vanishing hope of being rescued. Exposed, cold, defeated and almost defenceless, they wait while the German aircraft attack.
The story is told through the eyes of Tommy, an ordinary soldier who at the beginning of the film only just escapes with his life from a small group that comes under German fire. On arriving at the beach he soon realises the hopelessness of it all and sets out to make his own luck by pretending to be a stretcher bearer carrying an injured soldier to the Red Cross ship moored at the mole (the word for a pier/causeway not used so much these days). It would be giving too much away to recount what then happens, but it's worth mentioning that the events that follow are shown many times during the film, on each occasion from the perspective of a different person. This can initially be a bit confusing until you realise what's happening.
While Tommy is the thread which permeates the story, we are also introduced to Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance), the skipper of one of the famous flotilla of small boats that set out to rescue the troops. Accompanied by his son, Peter, and a young friend, George, they make their way to Dunkirk, picking up on the way a seriously shell-shocked soldier, the sole survivor of a torpedoed rescue ship. The soldier's paranoid resistance to returning to Dunkirk leads to tragedy, but this doesn't stop Mr Dawson who knows what's expected of him.
And then we have three RAF spitfires that are operating at extended range, which limits their fighting time because of fuel limitations. Tom Hardy is the principal player as Farrier in this thread of the story. Meanwhile on the mole we have Kenneth Branner as naval Commander Bolton, who is faced with coordinating the evacuation.
We see the drama unfold from the perspective of each of these players, in the telling and retelling of a series of incidents.
This film is not, as I've already said, a typical war story whereby our heroes perform deeds of derring do and in the process wipe out large numbers of the enemy. Yes, there is the air battle between the spitfires and the German fighters, yes there is a short scene where the beleaguered French try to hold back the approaching German army, and yes there is significant loss of life. But this is fundamentally a story of survival and bravery in the face of defeat, and of how against all the odds over 300,000 troops were rescued from what seemed to be certain death or capture.
Historically it is a matter of debate as to why Hitler didn't finish off the troops at Dunkirk. The reason offered in the film, namely 'why use tanks when you can pick them off on the beaches' is unlikely to be an accurate reflection. Also, the RAF flew 3,500 sorties in support of the evacuation but, as most of their action occurred away from the beaches, it led to the accusation that the RAF did nothing to help. This accusation is featured in the film. While on the matter of the RAF, although things became a bit confused because of the re-telling of the same sequence of events, it seemed at one point that Farrier had taken out a German fighter while gliding and out of fuel, which would have been extremely unlikely. But perhaps this was a misperception because of the time-shifting.
And finally a word for the French troops. Despite the negative impression given by a couple of incidents in the film where French soldiers weren't treated that well by their British counterparts, 75,000 were eventually evacuated (in the film Commander Bolton remains 'for the French'). While 40,000 troops of the French First Army remained as a rearguard, fighting a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armoured divisions, effectively allowing the evacuation to take place. These troops finally surrendered on 2 June.
Go and see this film, it's well worth it.
We see the drama unfold from the perspective of each of these players, in the telling and retelling of a series of incidents.
This film is not, as I've already said, a typical war story whereby our heroes perform deeds of derring do and in the process wipe out large numbers of the enemy. Yes, there is the air battle between the spitfires and the German fighters, yes there is a short scene where the beleaguered French try to hold back the approaching German army, and yes there is significant loss of life. But this is fundamentally a story of survival and bravery in the face of defeat, and of how against all the odds over 300,000 troops were rescued from what seemed to be certain death or capture.
Historically it is a matter of debate as to why Hitler didn't finish off the troops at Dunkirk. The reason offered in the film, namely 'why use tanks when you can pick them off on the beaches' is unlikely to be an accurate reflection. Also, the RAF flew 3,500 sorties in support of the evacuation but, as most of their action occurred away from the beaches, it led to the accusation that the RAF did nothing to help. This accusation is featured in the film. While on the matter of the RAF, although things became a bit confused because of the re-telling of the same sequence of events, it seemed at one point that Farrier had taken out a German fighter while gliding and out of fuel, which would have been extremely unlikely. But perhaps this was a misperception because of the time-shifting.
And finally a word for the French troops. Despite the negative impression given by a couple of incidents in the film where French soldiers weren't treated that well by their British counterparts, 75,000 were eventually evacuated (in the film Commander Bolton remains 'for the French'). While 40,000 troops of the French First Army remained as a rearguard, fighting a delaying action against seven German divisions, including three armoured divisions, effectively allowing the evacuation to take place. These troops finally surrendered on 2 June.
Go and see this film, it's well worth it.