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Showing posts from 2017

Dunkirk

Way back in 1952,  Rene Clement directed  Jeux Interdits, a French war film. It was based on Francois Boyer's novel of the same title. The film captures the horrors of the war as it disrupts everyday life, traumatizes children and kills innocence. What happens on a macro cosmic scale in war torn Europe, is reflected in the micro cosmic reality of the central protagonists: Paulette and Michel Dolle. As audience, we live the moments through these two characters. Music overpowers the narrative and haunts one for days. Very similar tonal quality can be sensed in Christopher Nolan's war film: Dunkirk (2017). It is amazing how both Clement and Nolan bring out the essence of human grit, basic survival instinct and an underlining sense of guilt that engulfs us all when we approach: war. For a war movie, Dunkirk is actually eye pleasing. There is hardly any blood to be seen. The beach, water, sky, cliffs all have been shot spectacularly. Yet, we know this is not a holiday experienc