I seriously cannot grasp this explanation as a justification for anything. Dunkirk is not a documentary. It’s not intended to be a reenactment of events. It gives three different character perspectives, using a strange and wonderful timeline enhancement structure, to give a sense of the event from different perspectives. That is to say, to break down the speed and impact of war from an individual perspective.
When we first heard they were making this film, we were all, “Uh. A movie about a bunch of dudes getting taken off a beach. Please. Hard pass.”
And then Nolan went and drilled down into the perspectives of people on the sand, in the air, and in and on the water. Doing so largely without stars (I mean major stars) and without having the enemy snarl about because the threat was clear. As a storm approaching an island, faceless and furious, that was understood.
The distinction between whether it was a “real event” or “purely a fictional work” that takes place within an actual theater of war that happened is an odd way to split a hair. How does Christopher Nolan owe us more with regard to relating “specific historical events” than Michael Cimino does?
I disagree, entirely. If I wanted to make a movie called The Tet Offensive about sexual harassment in an army unit, set in that theater of war, I’m not obligated to try to tell the tale of the actual Tet Offensive. I’m only obligated to deliver a decent movie. I don’t need to tick a bunch of boxes of historical facts. How many boxes do I need to tick in order to fulfill my obligation, exactly?
This line of reasoning is really weird, you guys.
Dunkirk is amazing because it is simultaneously ambitious and tight, which was a total surprise to me. It is masterful in its ability to convey different levels of an event, giving it scope and context while achieving intimacy, without feeling the need to explain everything about the history in a granular manner.
Again, it’s not a documentary. There is room inside real events to show fictional stories that can illuminate those events. So I don’t know what you all are on about.
-xtien
“Talkative sort, aren’t you.”