Solari Movie of the Year 2017: Dunkirk

“We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.” ~ Sir Winston Churchill

Christopher Nolan’s 2017 blockbuster tells the story of Allied soldiers from Belgium, the British Empire and France surrounded by the German Army who were evacuated by a hastily assembled fleet of over 800 boats, including British destroyers, Royal Canadian destroyers, and a flotilla of hundreds of merchant marine boats, fishing boats, yachts and pleasure boats, and lifeboats called into service from Britain.
Dunkirk speaks to a time when real trouble comes, reminding us of the culture that can face and overcome adversity. The movie tag line is worth taking to heart – “hope is a weapon.”

7 Comments

  1. Yet another (maybe the last?) production to bolster the “Churchill myth”. Apart from the quality of the movie, the whole “Dunkirk myth” was crafted avoiding discussion as to the meaning of Hitler’s “Halt Order” – the holding back of the German advance, against the advice of the generals, to allow for the evacuation. According to works such as “Double Standards” by Picknett, Prince & Prior, Hitler may have conceived this move to allow the British a face-saving retreat instead of total defeat, in the hope of making them more psychologically likely to come to a settlement. The wartime and, for decades, the post-war narrative failed to acknowledge that the order came directly from Hitler. The reason being that people were supposed to believe that the crossing was not a debacle but a success due to a combination of Allied bravery and German ineptitude.

    1. Yes, good point. Farrell covers the German stand down very well in his new book Hess & the Penguin. I still believe Dunkirk demonstrates the power and importance of citizen action. The WWII story is much more complicated than we understand. I am going to recommend two books for this years Recommended Books to help understand WWII – Trading with the Enemy by Charles Higham and IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Black. I have long believed that WWII happened because the Anglo American alliance believed they would rule the planet if they could devastate Germany – hence the war was on and the Hess initiative killed.

  2. Yet another (maybe the last?) production to bolster the “Churchill myth”. Apart from the quality of the movie, the whole “Dunkirk myth” was crafted avoiding discussion as to the meaning of Hitler’s “Halt Order” – the holding back of the German advance, against the advice of the generals, to allow for the evacuation. According to works such as “Double Standards” by Picknett, Prince & Prior, Hitler may have conceived this move to allow the British a face-saving retreat instead of total defeat, in the hope of making them more psychologically likely to come to a settlement. The wartime and, for decades, the post-war narrative failed to acknowledge that the order came directly from Hitler. The reason being that people were supposed to believe that the crossing was not a debacle but a success due to a combination of Allied bravery and German ineptitude.

    1. Yes, good point. Farrell covers the German stand down very well in his new book Hess & the Penguin. I still believe Dunkirk demonstrates the power and importance of citizen action. The WWII story is much more complicated than we understand. I am going to recommend two books for this years Recommended Books to help understand WWII – Trading with the Enemy by Charles Higham and IBM and the Holocaust by Edwin Black. I have long believed that WWII happened because the Anglo American alliance believed they would rule the planet if they could devastate Germany – hence the war was on and the Hess initiative killed.

  3. BY “WE”, CHURCHILL MEANT INDIAN SOLDIERS. Indian soldiers were protecting cowardly British soldiers who were running away from Germans from Dunkirk despite being 400,000 strong. More than 40,000 Indian soldiers were busy laying mines laden on their mules to prevent deadly German Panzer tanks from entering the perimeter. 14500 Indian soldiers were killed by Germans while securing the perimeter of Dunkirk along with the French. IN DUNKIRK MOVIE NO INDIAN IS SHOWN.
    Surviving 25300 Indian soldiers were captured as slaves , and transported to Rothschild’s tungsten mines in Germany, Spain and Portugal. Mine survivors (after WW2 ) were killed to prevent this foul secret from getting out.

    1. Rajeshwar – I had NO IDEA. Where can I read/learn more? Not sure have you read the story of how the Americans killed 4 MM German POWS after the end of the war. Ugly picture. Catherine

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