Dunkirk

#51 at the time of writing.

Just watched this, and my initial impressions are twofold. First, I'm incredibly grateful to be living in relatively peaceful times; we must never take that for granted. I don't know how I'd react if I was forced into such horrendous circumstances, but I'll be thankful if that's never tested.

Second, this film suffers a little from director Christopher Nolan's trademark flaw. His movies are awe-inspiringly ambitious spectacles, with intelligent and compelling plots, but populated by under-developed characters. The people in this story feel like ciphers.

Still, the film showed me perspectives I hadn't considered - and taught me things I didn't know - about the Dunkirk evacuation, and made me want to read more.

The practical effects deserve praise, and Hans Zimmer's musical score added to the tension beautifully (if unsubtly).

According to IMDb trivia, 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.

The Mark Rylance character, Dawson, is closely based on Lightoller, Second Officer of the Titanic, who took his yacht Sundowner to Dunkirk at the age of 66. Like Lightoller he refuses to let the navy crew his boat - "if anyone takes her it will be me", and takes one of his sons with him. Like Lightoller, Dawson has lost a son in the RAF (Brian, shot down in a Wellington bomber on the second day of the war) who taught him how to evade air attack. Also like Lightoller he packs the boat so full (four stood in the bathtub), the disembarkation officer couldn't believe over 55 men were aboard Sundowner.

Snapshot IV - IMDb's Top 250 Films Feb 2017

Right, after taking a whole year off this blog, it's time to do a progress check. More than a third of the films I've blogged about have since fallen off the Top 250. Nevertheless, my mission is 35% complete...

See previous snapshots: Feb 2013, Sep 2010, Feb 2009.

Title	IMDb Rating	Blogged?
1. The Shawshank Redemption (1994)	9.2
2. The Godfather (1972)	9.2
3. The Godfather: Part II (1974)	9
4. The Dark Knight (2008)	8.9	Yes
5. 12 Angry Men (1957)	8.9
6. Schindler's List (1993)	8.9
7. Pulp Fiction (1994)	8.9
8. The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King (2003)	8.9
9. The Good, the Bad and the Ugly (1966)	8.8
10. Fight Club (1999)	8.8	Yes
11. The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring (2001)	8.8
12. Star Wars: Episode V - The Empire Strikes Back (1980)	8.7	Yes
13. Forrest Gump (1994)	8.7	Yes
14. Inception (2010)	8.7	Yes
15. The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)	8.7
16. One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (1975)	8.7
17. Goodfellas (1990)	8.7
18. The Matrix (1999)	8.7
19. Seven Samurai (1954)	8.6	Yes
20. Star Wars: Episode IV - A New Hope (1977)	8.6	Yes
21. City of God (2002)	8.6	Yes
22. Se7en (1995)	8.6
23. The Silence of the Lambs (1991)	8.6
24. It's a Wonderful Life (1946)	8.6
25. The Usual Suspects (1995)	8.6
26. Life Is Beautiful (1997)	8.6
27. Léon: The Professional (1994)	8.5
28. Spirited Away (2001)	8.5	Yes
29. Saving Private Ryan (1998)	8.5
30. Once Upon a Time in the West (1968)	8.5	Yes
31. American History X (1998)	8.5
32. Interstellar (2014)	8.5	Yes
33. Casablanca (1942)	8.5	Yes
34. Psycho (1960)	8.5
35. City Lights (1931)	8.5	Yes
36. The Green Mile (1999)	8.5
37. The Intouchables (2011)	8.5
38. Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981)	8.5	Yes
39. Modern Times (1936)	8.5
40. Rear Window (1954)	8.5	Yes
41. La La Land (2016)	8.5	Yes
42. The Pianist (2002)	8.5
43. The Departed (2006)	8.5	Yes
44. Terminator 2: Judgment Day (1991)	8.5	Yes
45. Back to the Future (1985)	8.5	Yes
46. Whiplash (2014)	8.5	Yes
47. Gladiator (2000)	8.5
48. Memento (2000)	8.5	Yes
49. Apocalypse Now (1979)	8.5
50. The Prestige (2006)	8.5	Yes
51. The Lion King (1994)	8.5	Yes
52. Alien (1979)	8.4	Yes
53. Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb (1964)	8.4
54. Sunset Boulevard (1950)	8.4
55. The Great Dictator (1940)	8.4
56. Cinema Paradiso (1988)	8.4
57. The Lives of Others (2006)	8.4	Yes
58. Paths of Glory (1957)	8.4	Yes
59. Grave of the Fireflies (1988)	8.4	Yes
60. Django Unchained (2012)	8.4	Yes
61. The Shining (1980)	8.4
62. WALL·E (2008)	8.4	Yes
63. American Beauty (1999)	8.4
64. The Dark Knight Rises (2012)	8.4	Yes
65. Princess Mononoke (1997)	8.4	Yes
66. Aliens (1986)	8.4
67. Oldboy (2003)	8.4	Yes
68. Once Upon a Time in America (1984)	8.4
69. Citizen Kane (1941)	8.3
70. Das Boot (1981)	8.3	Yes
71. Witness for the Prosecution (1957)	8.3
72. North by Northwest (1959)	8.3
73. Vertigo (1958)	8.3
74. Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi (1983)	8.3	Yes
75. Reservoir Dogs (1992)	8.3
76. M (1931)	8.3
77. Braveheart (1995)	8.3
78. Amélie (2001)	8.3
79. Requiem for a Dream (2000)	8.3	Yes
80. A Clockwork Orange (1971)	8.3
81. Taxi Driver (1976)	8.3	Yes
82. Lawrence of Arabia (1962)	8.3	Yes
83. Like Stars on Earth (2007)	8.3
84. Double Indemnity (1944)	8.3
85. To Kill a Mockingbird (1962)	8.3
86. Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind (2004)	8.3	Yes
87. Toy Story 3 (2010)	8.3	Yes
88. Amadeus (1984)	8.3
89. My Father and My Son (2005)	8.3
90. Full Metal Jacket (1987)	8.3	Yes
91. Dangal (2016)	8.3
92. The Sting (1973)	8.3
93. 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)	8.3
94. Singin' in the Rain (1952)	8.3
95. Toy Story (1995)	8.3	Yes
96. Bicycle Thieves (1948)	8.3
97. The Kid (1921)	8.3
98. Inglourious Basterds (2009)	8.3
99. Snatch (2000)	8.3
100. Monty Python and the Holy Grail (1975)	8.3
101. 3 Idiots (2009)	8.3
102. L.A. Confidential (1997)	8.3
103. For a Few Dollars More (1965)	8.3
104. Scarface (1983)	8.3
105. Rashomon (1950)	8.2	Yes
106. The Apartment (1960)	8.2
107. The Hunt (2012)	8.2
108. Good Will Hunting (1997)	8.2
109. Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade (1989)	8.2
110. A Separation (2011)	8.2
111. Metropolis (1927)	8.2	Yes
112. Yojimbo (1961)	8.2
113. All About Eve (1950)	8.2
114. Hacksaw Ridge (2016)	8.2
115. Batman Begins (2005)	8.2	Yes
116. Up (2009)	8.2	Yes
117. Some Like It Hot (1959)	8.2	Yes
118. The Treasure of the Sierra Madre (1948)	8.2
119. Unforgiven (1992)	8.2
120. Downfall (2004)	8.2	Yes
121. Raging Bull (1980)	8.2
122. The Third Man (1949)	8.2	Yes
123. Die Hard (1988)	8.2
124. Children of Heaven (1997)	8.2
125. Heat (1995)	8.2
126. The Great Escape (1963)	8.2	Yes
127. Chinatown (1974)	8.2	Yes
128. Inside Out (2015)	8.2	Yes
129. Pan's Labyrinth (2006)	8.2
130. Ikiru (1952)	8.2
131. My Neighbor Totoro (1988)	8.2	Yes
132. On the Waterfront (1954)	8.2
133. Room (2015)	8.2	Yes
134. Ran (1985)	8.2
135. The Gold Rush (1925)	8.2
136. The Secret in Their Eyes (2009)	8.2	Yes
137. The Bridge on the River Kwai (1957)	8.2
138. Blade Runner (1982)	8.2	Yes
139. Mr. Smith Goes to Washington (1939)	8.2
140. The Seventh Seal (1957)	8.2	Yes
141. Howl's Moving Castle (2004)	8.2	Yes
142. Lock, Stock and Two Smoking Barrels (1998)	8.2
143. Judgment at Nuremberg (1961)	8.2
144. The Bandit (1996)	8.2
145. Casino (1995)	8.2
146. Incendies (2010)	8.2
147. A Beautiful Mind (2001)	8.2	Yes
148. The Elephant Man (1980)	8.2
149. A Wednesday (2008)	8.2
150. The General (1926)	8.2
151. Wild Strawberries (1957)	8.2
152. V for Vendetta (2005)	8.1	Yes
153. Warrior (2011)	8.1
154. The Wolf of Wall Street (2013)	8.1	Yes
155. Sunrise (1927)	8.1
156. The Passion of Joan of Arc (1928)	8.1
157. Gran Torino (2008)	8.1	Yes
158. Rang De Basanti (2006)	8.1
159. Trainspotting (1996)	8.1
160. Dial M for Murder (1954)	8.1	Yes
161. The Big Lebowski (1998)	8.1	Yes
162. The Deer Hunter (1978)	8.1
163. Tokyo Story (1953)	8.1
164. Gone with the Wind (1939)	8.1	Yes
165. Fargo (1996)	8.1
166. Finding Nemo (2003)	8.1	Yes
167. The Sixth Sense (1999)	8.1	Yes
168. The Thing (1982)	8.1	Yes
169. Cool Hand Luke (1967)	8.1
170. Rebecca (1940)	8.1
171. No Country for Old Men (2007)	8.1	Yes
172. How to Train Your Dragon (2010)	8.1	Yes
173. Hera Pheri (2000)	8.1
174. Arrival (2016)	8.1	Yes
175. Munna Bhai M.B.B.S. (2003)	8.1
176. Andaz Apna Apna (1994)	8.1
177. Sholay (1975)	8.1
178. Kill Bill: Vol. 1 (2003)	8.1	Yes
179. Into the Wild (2007)	8.1	Yes
180. Mary and Max (2009)	8.1	Yes
181. Manchester by the Sea (2016)	8.1
182. There Will Be Blood (2007)	8.1	Yes
183. Gone Girl (2014)	8.1
184. Come and See (1985)	8.1
185. It Happened One Night (1934)	8.1
186. Life of Brian (1979)	8.1	Yes
187. Rush (2013)	8.1
188. Platoon (1986)	8.1
189. Hotel Rwanda (2004)	8.1	Yes
190. Shutter Island (2010)	8.1
191. Network (1976)	8.1
192. The Wages of Fear (1953)	8.1
193. Stand by Me (1986)	8.1
194. In the Name of the Father (1993)	8.1
195. Wild Tales (2014)	8.1
196. Spotlight (2015)	8.1
197. Star Wars: The Force Awakens (2015)	8.1	Yes
198. The Nights of Cabiria (1957)	8.1
199. The 400 Blows (1959)	8.1
200. Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969)	8.1
201. Mad Max: Fury Road (2015)	8.1	Yes
202. The Maltese Falcon (1941)	8.1
203. 12 Years a Slave (2013)	8.1	Yes
204. Ben-Hur (1959)	8.1
205. The Grand Budapest Hotel (2014)	8.1	Yes
206. Persona (1966)	8.1
207. Million Dollar Baby (2004)	8.1	Yes
208. Amores Perros (2000)	8.1	Yes
209. Jurassic Park (1993)	8.1
210. The Princess Bride (1987)	8.1
211. Memories of Murder (2003)	8.1
212. Hachi: A Dog's Tale (2009)	8.1
213. Stalker (1979)	8.1
214. Nausicaä of the Valley of the Wind (1984)	8.1
215. Drishyam (2015)	8
216. The Truman Show (1998)	8
217. The Grapes of Wrath (1940)	8
218. Before Sunrise (1995)	8
219. Touch of Evil (1958)	8
220. Annie Hall (1977)	8
221. Rocky (1976)	8	Yes
222. Gandhi (1982)	8	Yes
223. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows: Part 2 (2011)	8	Yes
224. The Message (1976)	8
225. The Bourne Ultimatum (2007)	8	Yes
226. Donnie Darko (2001)	8
227. Diabolique (1955)	8
228. Monsters, Inc. (2001)	8
229. Prisoners (2013)	8
230. The Terminator (1984)	8
231. 8½ (1963)	8
232. The Wizard of Oz (1939)	8	Yes
233. Groundhog Day (1993)	8
234. Catch Me If You Can (2002)	8
235. Twelve Monkeys (1995)	8
236. Zootopia (2016)	8	Yes
237. La Haine (1995)	8
238. Barry Lyndon (1975)	8
239. Jaws (1975)	8
240. The Best Years of Our Lives (1946)	8
241. Infernal Affairs (2002)	8
242. The Battle of Algiers (1966)	8
243. Udaan (2010)	8
244. Strangers on a Train (1951)	8
245. Dog Day Afternoon (1975)	8
246. Sin City (2005)	8	Yes
247. The Help (2011)	8
248. Kind Hearts and Coronets (1949)	8
249. Chak de! India (2007)	8
250. Kahaani (2012)	8

Spirited Away

#28 at the time of writing.

I'm overjoyed to see this film so high on the rankings - and deservedly so. It's a beautifully drawn coming-of-age story told in metaphor, peopled with a cast of spirits and monsters that is so delightfully other. It explores themes of alienation, fitting in, finding yourself, right and wrong, greed... and it carries you like its underwater train without you ever being sure of where you're going to end up next. It is so very strange, and yet resonates on a profoundly deep level.

Director Hayao Miyazaki is a master; this and My Neighbour Totoro are my favourite Ghibli films - they benefit, I think, from their relative narrative simplicity, whereas for me Howl's Moving Castle and Princess Mononoke despite also being high in the Top 250 are too complex and therefore don't hang together as well. (They are also darker in tone, which might be another reason I like them less.)

Incredibly, this film was apparently made without a script - the plot and characters developed organically via the storyboards.

Well, Miyazaki may finally have retired now (after five decades in the industry), but I still have plenty of unwatched Ghibli films to enjoy.

Room

#133 at the time of writing.

Wow. How do you take such a horrifyingly unpleasant subject and turn it into something so hopeful, compelling, complex, even beautiful? The writing and directing are excellent, but a large part of the credit has to go to Brie Larson and Jacob Tremblay who deliver the realest possible performances.

This is the story of a woman who has been kidnapped and held captive for years in a windowless room, barred from the outside world, and treated as a sex slave. Her son, the product of one of the rapes, grows up thinking that this one room is the whole world. She longs to escape, but the outside world may prove more of a challenge than expected.

Yeah, I know, heavy right? And sadly inspired by real life crimes such as those perpetrated by Josef Fritzl, Ariel Castro and Phillip and Nancy Garrido. Yet this film manages to transcend its distasteful subject matter.

In preparation for the role Brie Larson reportedly isolated herself at home for a month, following a strict diet and cutting off contact with the outside world. She didn't think it would be too difficult, but towards the last week she became very depressed and would cry all day.

Interesting trivia: although it's not made explicit in the film, Ma continues to breastfeed Jack even at five years old. In a film about one of the most universal and instinctively correct taboos, it's refreshing to see a less axiomatic taboo ignored.

Arrival

#174 at the time of writing.

Stories of Your Life and Others by Ted Chiang is my absolute favourite science fiction short story collection, with the possible exception of The Cyberiad by Stanislaw Lem. In fact those two are probably my favourite short story collections of any type. (And I'm a big fan of short stories.)

I hugely enjoyed the film Limitless, in part because it may as well have been an adaptation of Ted Chiang's short story Understand, but I never expected an actual Ted Chiang story adaptation - least of all one of the "unfilmable" ones.

But no, someone actually made a film about trying to interpret an alien language. The director of Sicario, no less. So, yeah, I was pretty excited.

And despite the inevitable Hollywoodization (the world will end if we don't crack the code in ten seconds!) it's good. Not best-ever good, but thoroughly satisfying. And smart.

Mind you, having been familiar with the story, I had zero sense of whether the twist worked. I knew it was coming, so I might have missed out on some of the impact!

Alright, now do Division by Zero.