Dunkirk

Happy Friday Night, SB. That was a nice picture of you in Chicago. I recognise the skyline from other shots I have seen, and I know they are very famous for their architecture, too, since we were just talking about that subject yesterday. :) Nice to see that John is using film. It reminds me that I still have to keep my commitment to shoot a few rolls of film this year myself. It was one of my New Year's resolutions, haha.

And speaking of film, today I went to the local movie theater to see "Dunkirk". It blew me away and I give it an 11 on a 10 scale. This is one of the most intense WW2 movies I have ever seen. It just throws you into the middle of the action and never lets up. There is not a second of downtime, just as there would have been none for the soldiers in real life. Because it is directed by Christopher Nolan, you know beforehand that it's gonna be of the highest technical level, and it is, with amazing aerial scenes and high-tension editing that weaves together three separate though connected stories. I won't babble on except to say that as a WW2 history buff for many years, while I had heard of Dunkirk and knew that a major story of the war had taken place there, I was never aware, until today, just what that story was.

I know that war movies aren't generally an area of female interest, and I hope I am not being sexist in saying that, but it usually seems like a guy thing, but my point was gonna be that, with Christopher Nolan, he gives you an emotional element in his movies, so that they are not just high tech and action packed, but also connect you to the human story being told.

"Dunkirk" is his best film, I think. It depicts a true story in the most honest way possible, by showing what actually happened, which is so harrowing, for such an extended period of time, that you find yourself wondering how anyone could have survived it.

It's not what you might call a "Chick Flick", but the human story is for everyone, and now that I think of it, I like a lot of Chick Flicks myself, because of the human story involved. So there you have it : "Dunkirk" is a tremendous movie, and while extremely violent and intense (but not too gory), it still has, at it's core, a great and important human story to tell. I think it will be nominated for many Academy Awards.

Last night I watched an altogether different type of movie at home on DVD, called "The Boy With Green Hair" (1948), made by director Joseph Losey (of La Crosse, Wisconsin), who was branded a Communist and blacklisted in the 50s during the era of McCarthyism and wound up moving to Europe to make films. But in 1948, he was still in the USA, and he made this film right here in the Valley, in Van Nuys at a place no longer standing called The McKinley Home For Boys. The story is a parable, about the effect war has on children. It is presented in the style of a Technicolor fantasy, almost like a play. Dean Stockwell in the title role gives one of the best performances by a child that I've seen. He went on almost 40 years later to leave an indelible mark in "Blue Velvet" by David Lynch, so his career has been long and varied.

That is my viewing for the past two days. Other than that, just Aliso hikes.

I don't really know if you read these blogs anymore, but just in case you do I will keep writing.  :):)