Dunkirk

For once, I actually did read the comments here before watching the film, so I really didn't expect to go this high with my rating. I thought a war movie without war in it would be similarly "great" as a comedy without humor or an action movie without action. Dunkirk struck me as a behind-the-scenes look at war. The filmmakers got the atmosphere right, Mark Rylance gave the best performance out of everyone involved, and I have to admit that I was even pondering a fifth star, but... I was puzzled by a lack of (German) artillery fire on the beach, a complete lack of British air defense both on the beach and at sea, and Tom Hardy couldn't convince me that Supermarine had originally developed a glider for the army. (22.01.2018)

Christopher Nolan has made an immensely powerful film that may be about war, but it is first and foremost about people. About how strong they are, how weak they are, how they can come together, and also about how they can kick each other down. The film isn't great because it has great fight scenes, but because it captures the human fate and pain of war in an incredibly realistic way. (25.07.2017)

A depersonalized war epic in which instead of powerful and emotionally wrenching human stories or heroism, Nolan presents a wartime hell in an anonymous, detached guise. Indeed, it is quite difficult to fixate on any one character, as the narrative honestly follows the "rescue" as a whole and, with few exceptions, essentially gives no character room to make individual sacrifices for the benefit of all. Dunkirk's strength lies primarily in its detached, impersonal, bold approach and Zimmer's hellishly evocative soundtrack, which I can't imagine the sound of some scenes without hearing. In IMAX it was incredibly good; home viewing cut almost a quarter of the original experience. But in the war movie category, it's stunningly original and innovative. (20.11.2018)