# Dunkirk - bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [July 21, 2017, 1:10pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794 "2017-07-21T13:10:21Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/21 "2017-07-21T23:06:45Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Do you ghost write for Christopher Nolan? No, he ghost writes for Winston Churchill. ---
**Author:** ![don\_t\_ask](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/e68b1a/32.png) [@don\_t\_ask](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/don_t_ask)\ **Post date:** [July 21, 2017, 11:14pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/22 "2017-07-21T23:14:38Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > Do you ghost write for Christopher Nolan? No, that was Roman Polanski. ---
**Author:** ![Sam\_Lowry](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e95f7d/32.png) [@Sam\_Lowry](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sam_Lowry)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 2:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/23 "2017-07-22T02:05:06Z")
I saw the movie last night and really liked it. I did see it in a regular theater and not IMAX, and it was super intense in a regular theater, maybe the sound would have been overwhelming in IMAX. I liked the use of sound, it did add to the attention, especially with the ticking clock for some of it. Maybe that’s a bit on the nose, but it worked for me. I think there were also different tempos for the different sections of the movie, since the different sections took place over an hour, a day, or a week. My roommate with a master’s in music recognized that the score was at least inspired by one of Elgar’s pieces slowed down a crazy amount. And just as a war movie I really liked it. I had expected it to be longer, and it could have been if there was time taken to set up the different characters, but I liked that it dispensed with that and quickly got to the action. There were a few places where I didn’t catch the dialogue, but that was also partly the accents. And there was such little dialogue it didn’t bother me. I don’t remember having issues with sound in other Nolan films, but I haven’t seen any since I saw Interstellar in the theater. And like garygnu said, I’m pretty sure Inception didn’t have the “bwaaww” sound in the movie, just in the trailer, and the trailer was everywhere and then inspired many parodies. ---
**Author:** ![Ike\_Witt](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ike_witt/32/283_2.png) [@Ike\_Witt](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ike_Witt)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 3:05am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/24 "2017-07-22T03:05:39Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > and ‘no lead actors of color’. :rolleyes: Now I am curious. Were there any blacks at all in the British military in WWII? ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 3:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/25 "2017-07-22T03:07:23Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I heard that a reviewer at _USA Today_ complained that there were few women in it, and ‘no lead actors of color’. :rolleyes: Ah, there’s the BAAW I was looking for. 😉 Yes, it’s so hard to believe that colonial empires such as, say, the French and the British would field units comprised of non-White people. Just as an example: > [@](#): > > Four contingents of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps were sent to support the British Expeditionary Force in France in 1940. There was a need for animal transport companies to help with the supply of troops, as the British Army had disbanded its animal transport companies after the First World War. The British, French and Canadian Forces were cut off by advancing German troops in their push towards the Channel. The soldiers retreated to the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk from where 338,226 were evacuated, among them three contingents of the Royal Indian Army Service Corps, while one contingent was taken prisoner by German forces. [Source](http://www.open.ac.uk/researchprojects/makingbritain/content/battle-and-evacuation-dunkirk-operation-dynamo) But none of the previous movies had multiethnic casts, so therefore the real Dunkirk was monochromatic as well, eh? :rolleyes: ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 3:30am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/26 "2017-07-22T03:30:03Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > I heard that a reviewer at _USA Today_ complained that there were few women in it, and ‘no lead actors of color’. :rolleyes: Oh, because there weren’t 2.5 million Indians serving with the British in WWII? ---
**Author:** ![Bricker](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@Bricker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Bricker)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 3:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/27 "2017-07-22T03:32:44Z")
> [@Ludovic](#): > > Nope, that’s why they needed to take them on at 1:3. Otherwise they could have at 1:4 traded wood for sheep. I Catan understand what you mean. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_L.A](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_l.a/32/1084_2.png) [@Johnny\_L.A](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_L.A)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 4:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/28 "2017-07-22T04:28:44Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Oh, because there weren’t 2.5 million Indians serving with the British in WWII? 2.5 million _at the end_ of WWII. In 1939, there were 200,000. There were four mule companies of Indian soldiers at Dunkirk. A company is 80 to 250 men. So there were between 320 and 1,000 Indians. There were 198,000 British, and 140,00 Allied (mostly French) soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk. So you’re talking about 320 - 1,000 Indian soldiers out of 338,000 total evacuated. From a historical standpoint, should there have been an Indian lead character? ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/29 "2017-07-22T05:11:36Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > 140,000 Allied (mostly French) soldiers evacuated from Dunkirk. No French or Belgian colonials? ---
**Author:** ![xqueenfrostine](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/x/b5ac83/32.png) [@xqueenfrostine](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/xqueenfrostine)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/30 "2017-07-22T16:44:44Z")
> [@steronz](#): > > In previous movies I found it a somewhat amusing annoyance, but in Dunkirk, at least in IMAX, it ruined everything. It was so loud, so distracting, at times so painful, that I considered getting up and walking out. Why? WHY?! The frustrating thing is that this movie is chock full of _brilliant_ sounds. The rumble of spitfires, the shriek of bombs, the sharp crack of bullets, all amazing, but mostly drowned out by an incomprehensible drone. I saw Dunkirk in IMAX last night and concur about the aural brutality of the experience. Between the sound and the constant movement\* on screen, this film was probably the most physically unpleasant film experience I’ve had in recent memory. I had to get up to take a break half way through the movie because of how nauseous and overwhelmed I was feeling. Afterward, my brother (who liked the movie) described the film’s score as “panic attack inducing.” This was the first of Nolan’s films that I’ve seen in IMAX, and based on this experience I don’t think I’d choose to go see another of his movies this way ever again. I get what he’s going for and I can appreciate the artistic choices he’s making, but I just couldn’t handle it. I think I might have enjoyed this movie if I had seen it in a regular theater or at home, but it was absolutely miserable in IMAX. I could not wait for it to be over. \*heads up to the people who sometimes get motion sick watching movies in the theater. You might either want to pop a Dramamine before hand or wait to see this movie when you can watch it at home. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/31 "2017-07-22T16:52:06Z")
> [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > From a historical standpoint, should there have been an Indian lead character? I don’t even understand what that question means. A historical standpoint doesn’t imply a “should” in that consideration. They certainly _could_ have had a non-white lead character, and it might have offered an important perspective. But it’s definitely not a question deserving rolleyes. ---
**Author:** ![Derleth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/b9e5f3/32.png) [@Derleth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Derleth)\ **Post date:** [July 22, 2017, 8:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/32 "2017-07-22T20:38:03Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > I don’t even understand what that question means. A historical standpoint doesn’t imply a “should” in that consideration. > > They certainly _could_ have had a non-white lead character, and it might have offered an important perspective. > > But it’s definitely not a question deserving rolleyes. Well, it is when you don’t have an actual argument _against_ that position. ---
**Author:** ![SuperNelson](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/7feea3/32.png) [@SuperNelson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/SuperNelson)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 4:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/33 "2017-07-23T04:08:26Z")
From [IMDB’s trivia section](http://www.imdb.com/title/tt5013056/trivia?item=tr3507769): > [@](#): > > According to actor-director Kenneth Branagh, roughly 30 veteran Dunkirk survivors, who were in their mid nineties, attended the premiere in London. When asked about the film, they felt that it accurately captured the event but that the soundtrack was louder than the actual bombardment, a comment that greatly amused director Christopher Nolan. ---
**Author:** ![chappachula](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/d2c977/32.png) [@chappachula](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/chappachula)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 10:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/34 "2017-07-23T10:56:32Z")
> [@](#): > > complained that there were few women in it, and ‘no lead actors of color’ > [@Johnny\_L.A](#): > > From a historical standpoint, should there have been an Indian lead character? Facts and historical accuracy are irrelevant for social justice warriors. You’re supposed to change the facts till they match the proper theories of political correctness. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 12:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/35 "2017-07-23T12:03:15Z")
Having a nonwhite lead character in a story about Dunkirk doesn’t somehow suddenly make it historically inaccurate. On the other hand no one ever worried about the historical inaccuracy of decades of television shows and movies that ignored the existence of nonwhite people. It’s funny how champions of historical accuracy have become so diligent now. ---
**Author:** ![terentii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/terentii/32/212_2.png) [@terentii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/terentii)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 1:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/36 "2017-07-23T13:08:42Z")
> [@Acsenray](#): > > Having a nonwhite lead character in a story about Dunkirk doesn’t somehow suddenly make it historically inaccurate. Neither does it necessarily advance the story. ---
**Author:** ![Acsenray](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/acsenray/32/4519_2.png) [@Acsenray](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Acsenray)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 1:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/37 "2017-07-23T13:19:46Z")
> [@terentii](#): > > Neither does it necessarily advance the story. No random detail like this _necessarily_ advances a story. It depends on how you write the story. All I am saying is that is nothing inherently ridiculous about considering the possibility a nonwhite lead character in a story about Dunkirk. It’s certainly not an idea that by itself deserves derision or mockery or rolleyes or lectures about historical accuracy. Questions like these are not actually about specific works. They are about the overall impact of a commercial culture that routinely ignores the existence or experience of nonwhite people. So, here we have a movie about Dunkirk. Should there be a lead nonwhite character? I don’t know. It’s not really a question that can be answered. But how does it fit in with how nonwhite people are generally treated broadly in the Anglo-American popular culture? How does it fit in to how and how often nonwhite people are depicted? How does it fit in to how disproportionately low the number of roles are available to nonwhite performers? How does it fit in to how decisions about what movies are made and who makes those decisions? ---
**Author:** ![JcWoman](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jcwoman/32/2889_2.png) [@JcWoman](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JcWoman)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 2:08pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/38 "2017-07-23T14:08:06Z")
> [@Arrogance\_Ex\_Machina](#): > > I wonder if that’s just you or the IMAX theater you went to. I went to a normal theater where the music wasn’t too loud and the sounds of war were a lot louder than the music growling in the background. Even so I’m not sure if I’d recommend the movie to people who hate Zimmer’s music. There’s not many quiet moments for sure. > > And yeah those sounds were awesome, I don’t think I’ve ever heard guns sound quite like that in any movie before. Those wailing Stukas sent shivers down my spine, too. We saw it in a 2D movie that had a Dolby Atmos sound system and extra large screen (Alamo Drafthouse) and really enjoyed the movie. As we were walking out, though, I told my husband, “I would NOT have enjoyed that in iMax!” It was very intense, edge of your seat the whole time. As to the score, I probably would have thought it was overdone also, except that two days before we saw Dunkirk, we saw a documentary called SCORE. In that, they talked about musicians who score movies, and one part was about Zimmer. I didn’t know who he was, but it was interesting to learn that he was the keyboardist in The Buggles (Video Killed the Radio Star). He brings a sort of a hard rock vibe to his scores, but is also known for using strings as percussion instruments. Seeing that documentary allowed me to immediately identify the strings-as-percussion at the beginning of Dunkirk and actually appreciate his score. The movie would have been a sleeper if it had a calm, sweet score. Zimmer’s hard-pounding choice of music amplified the feeling of being in the middle of the war, and you know what? There was actually no blood and guts realism shown on the screen, but you walked out at the end feeling like you were just as shell shocked as the characters in the movie. In that way it was brilliant. I wonder if he had to keep hiring more musicians as the ones he had dropped dead from exhaustion! ---
**Author:** ![Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mean_mr.mustard/32/3865_2.png) [@Mean\_Mr.Mustard](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mean_Mr.Mustard)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 5:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/39 "2017-07-23T17:57:16Z")
I saw it on a regular screen and had no issues at all with the soundtrack. Ironically, the two trailers shown before Dunkirk (Atomic Blond and The Dark Tower) had obnoxious sound that was noticeably unsettling (and I’m not one to get unsettled by sound). mmm ---
**Author:** ![Omar\_Little](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/omar_little/32/269_2.png) [@Omar\_Little](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Omar_Little)\ **Post date:** [July 23, 2017, 6:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794/40 "2017-07-23T18:26:54Z")
Best movie of the year…so far. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794.md?page=1) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/dunkirk-bwaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaw/791794.md?page=3)