Dunkirk | Film Review

Hey Guys x

In keeping with Oscar season, Dunkirk is the next film that I'm reviewing!

The film takes place in May 1940, and is about troops from Britain and France that were trapped by Germany on the beaches of Dunkirk, and if/how they managed to be evacuated.

I didn't really have any idea of this story before I started watching this film. The only thing I knew was from the brief descriptions of the film that I'd already read, but nothing about how accurate it is to the true story, so I didn't know what to expect.

The biggest theme of this film was definitely the sense of heroism, of what these men managed to accomplish and the sense of relief and freedom that came from them finally making their way back home (which is a spoiler but to be honest, this came out AGES ago and it's a true story, so if you haven't seen it, you probably know how it ends anyway).

However, the other theme for me was the human basic instinct of survival. Even as a viewer safely at home watching, I felt the need to survive. You watch these men and you feel the need to help them, to make sure that they survive. It wasn't about who was winning the war or anything like that, it was about seeing the men evacuated, and that made the film, and the subject matter, really special.

Having said all that, it's the kind of film that I'll have to see more than once before I decide completely how I feel about it.

It started slow, and I'm talking sloth slow. I didn't really know what was happening for a good majority of the time. It might just be because I don't know much of anything about that period of time, and don't have a particular interest in it, but it wasn't as exciting as I assumed it would be.

I also think it suffered for me because I've heard such great things about it. I assumed it would be this incredible masterpiece of filmmaking that would become an instant classic that no one could not love. And because of that, I was, and am, slightly disappointed. Because I did not hate the film by any standards, or even dislike it. But I assumed that I would love it in the way that so many other people seem to, and I really don't.

However, the acting was brilliant. Particularly Harry Styles, just because I didn't expect him to be good because I only know him as being a part of One Direction. But I'm pretty sure he had one of the most prominent roles within the film and he played it really well, so hats off to him and to the rest of the guys in the film who were really great!

So overall, it was a great subject matter, but I didn't enjoy the film itself that much. However, I would definitely recommend it because it's telling a story of great interest and importance.

Have you seen it? What did you think of it?

Lou xx