Finally got around to watching 'Dunkirk' last week.

[bunn]

I liked it a lot, and so did Pp, but I suspect it's one of those movies that depends enormously on your personal context.   It might even seem dull or confused if it wasn't a story you grew up with...

Pp correctly identified the Spitfire pilot as the designated hero of the movie, but I have to admit I was really watching for the boats, and I completely assumed that the old bloke and the two kids in the motor yacht were supposed to be the main heroes.  Where I grew up, someone had made scale models of all the Little Ships of Dunkirk and they were displayed at the local National Trust place, so that was my context.

It was a pity that I don't think they were able to show any of the Dutch coasters or Belgian ships involved, and I don't remember seeing any RNLI lifeboats either but perhaps I missed them.  It was nice to see the Medway Queen  (was that genuine? Wikipedia thinks she's still preserved... oh, hang on, maybe it wasn't the Medway Queen but the Princess Elizabeth paddle steamer?)  but I don't remember seeing any of the Isle of Man Steam Packet ferries, either, even if they had to cgi them in....  But perhaps I should re-watch now I've got over the tension of people being shot and trapped on beaches and in sinking ships (aaaaaa the sinking ferry full of people and the teacups and the floating sandwiches!  I was very tense at that point. )

Comments

[topum.livejournal.com]

I rarely watch movies and rarely like the ones I watch but I liked "Dunkirk" a lot too, I thought it was a great movie.

[hhimring]

I didn't think it was the kind of movie to have only one designated hero.

I went into it with a lot of trepidation and it spoke to me strongly.

Apparently, there a considerable number of historical inaccuracies, a lot of which I missed.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

It was VERY EXCITING. I was extremely tense. I suppose the world is not all that short of British-focussed WWII media, but this did seem a good addition to the genre.

[bunn.livejournal.com]

I think something like that is bound to have historical inaccuracies, don't you? For one thing there's probably Debateable Stuff which varied by personal experience, and for another I guess there is limited amounts of equipment. I believe the little yacht 'Moonstone' was not one of the actual Little Ships, but was bought and named for the purpose, but I can forgive that for the overall feel and tension!

[topum.livejournal.com]

Nobody is stopping the world from creating the media focused on whatever the world wants it to be focused. I don't think that you Brits owe it to the world to produce less of it or change the focus of it to please the world.