I have been reading these posts about the new Dunkirk film with interest and I am surprised that many feel qualified to run down a film that they have not seen. The people on this forum look through the eyes that very few people will and we are all historians with a deep interest in the subject. If you want to watch an account that is frame by frame accurate then I suggest you only watch documentaries on Dave or the History Chanel.
I went to see the film and whilst I noticed that the beaches were too empty and the poor shots of the Spitfire with the broom handle etc. I also noticed that there were many younger people in the cinema and also a lot of women who would never have watched a documentary and learned something of the tragedy that befell the BEF at Dunkirk. Many of the people who work for me went to see it including two female members of my team and most had not even heard of Dunkirk before they went. Films need to have drama, excitement and to captivate an audience and several of my team said it was emotionally draining.
Whilst the film was a long way from being 100% accurate it did at least not have the obligatory Americans in it or the overpowering use of CGI that we have seen in films like Pearl Harbor. It managed to capture the essence of what happened and has been the most successful film in the cinemas this summer and has even done well in USA.
In a Country where sadly many people including recent school leavers do not know who Churchill was it managed to give a fair representation and educate a few on the basics of what happened. One of the female members of my team is Spanish and she was enthralled by the film and now learning more about WW2 and the war that her Country did not take part in.
I was disappointed, but my wife was impressed, so there you go. It could have been much better, I thought, with not much extra effort or expense......perhaps better (or any?) technical advisors? Could have been a wartime drama hung on the story of any of the major WW2 events. Ken Branagh does a great stiff upper lip, though......wonder if he has it insured?
