The film I’m most looking forward to right now is Dunkirk by Christopher Nolan

First of all, I’m a sucker for a great trailer. By great I mean it builds anticipation without giving too much away, yet reveals enough tone to give you the feel for the kind of movie it is, all the while leaving you hanging and wanting more. A well constructed trailer is a work of art by itself these days. That being said, just look at this…

There’s really only one thing I don’t like about this trailer, and that’s that it reminds us of what other movies Christopher Nolan has made instead of focusing on this amazing story from World War II and the seemingly incredible way that Nolan intends to portray it. I don’t think it’s important to remind the world that the director is amazing, there’s enough going for this film as it is. Also, I think by now people know who he is. I know it’s normal to include information like that, but it felt too low end marketing oriented and unnecessary to me.

There hasn’t been a good historical World War II film in a while. In my opinion, Fury was kind of a bust aside from the tank scene when the sherman took out the panzer. Unbroken was more about the main character than the war itself (good movie, just less WWII, more Louis Zamperini). Furthermore, this is from an entirely European perspective in an entirely European situation. America was not involved in this fight. The Germans almost got a conditional surrender of war from the British in this moment. Just stop and try to imagine that. 1940, and England has surrendered to Nazi Germany….. This moment was huge. 400,000 British troops surrounded by German forces. Now separated from allied French, Belgian and Dutch forces. Germany, with 800,000 troops, calls what was at the time a mysterious halt to regroup in preparation to make the most of this moment. In the two days of that halt, England evacuates some 300,000 men, living to fight for another day, but losing mainland Europe in a devastating way after some serious miscalculation as to how far and how quickly Germany was working.

Anyone could make this film and the story is interesting. It’s a studio or director’s prize story to lose to poor execution. But it’s not any director. It’s Nolan, one of the greatest directors of all time making his first foray into historical drama. Why this story and why now? I don’t know for sure. But I do know, with the world we live in now, divided, post Brexit, in a Hillary or Trump America when it comes out in 2017, this film about harrowing courage, terrible situations, close calls and quick decisions stands as a bold reminder of just how bad things can get. He’s going to make a great film, and it’s going to give this historical moment a platform to preach to our modern times, and I think it will be up to a watching world to learn it’s lesson or ignore it. Apparently we need movies now, because history class isn’t doing the trick.

The trailer made it clear that this film will be shot with incredible blocking and framing. Each scene shown in it is clearly a careful construction. Two things come to mind. The first is Nolan’s entire filmography and how he tells a story. I think this video below where the Nerdwriter analyzes Nolan’s “The Prestige” is perhaps the best analysis of Nolan’s storytelling style. I would give it a watch and imagine this style as applied to a WWII battle, and then specifically to the Dunkirk battle.

Below is a video essay by “Every Frame a Painting” talking about one of the greatest directors of all time, Akira Kurosawa. Once you watch this video, if you are perceptive about film, you will begin to see Kurosawa’s influence everywhere. But after you watch this essay, look again at the Dunkirk trailer. Once your eye has been trained to notice how movement is utilized in Kurosawa’s style, notice the similarities you can already see in the trailer. I don’t know what that will mean for the entire movie. I can’t see Nolan using all the exaggerated expressions all the time, or giving every character some kind of tick to characterize them through repeated body language. But something about that final scene captured in the trailer, where the soldiers slowly look up to see what is apparently a plane, first one, then three, then all of them, to be followed by rapid duck and cover, I think there is going to be some masterful cinematography applied to WWII storytelling in a way that may never have been seen before. I’ll leave it for you to judge.

 

I’m excited about plenty of films coming out, for sure. I mean, at this point we’re going to have a Star Wars film every year, and that’s amazing. But as far as films that will be carefully constructed as works of high art, that master subtlety, and force the audience to be immersed in it’s world for a few hours of transforming and transcendent experiences that actually matter, I don’t think anything is going to beat Dunkirk in the next year. I won’t mind being proven wrong, but that’s my guess at this point.

A fountain filled with blood, my favorite hymn

I grew up with hymns in my home church. Each church has its traditions and not all share the same hymnody, so there were a lot of hymns I never heard. Once before a class in seminary, my professor had us all sing this song I had not heard before, and I was struck by the imagery. The idea of the need for blood to be saved is a very dark one, yet Christians sing about such things. That there is beauty in the dark reality of the Son of God, not only dying, but shedding his blood violently to redeem his people is at the core of much Christian worship.

8 And being found in appearance as a man,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to death—
even death on a cross! (Php 2:8)

It is unsettling in many ways, as it should be. As many have said, though we are given grace freely, it is not a cheap grace, for it was indeed extremely costly. Songs like this, with such incredible imagery as a fountain of blood, help us, or at least me, bathe in this freeing but weighty reality of salvation.

Here are  five verses, with two renditions of it below. One from one of my favorite bands, Citizens and Saints, and another more traditional style with lyrics. I hope you are able to either enjoy it as an act of worship, or at least come to a greater appreciation of what Christians believe about the death of Christ, and why it is a precious thing to us.

There is a fountain filled with blood drawn from Emmanuel’s veins;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.
Lose all their guilty stains, lose all their guilty stains;
And sinners plunged beneath that flood lose all their guilty stains.

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The dying thief rejoiced to see that fountain in his day;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.
Washed all my sins away, washed all my sins away;
And there have I, though vile as he, washed all my sins away.

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Dear dying Lamb, Thy precious blood shall never lose its power
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.
Be saved, to sin no more, be saved, to sin no more;
Till all the ransomed church of God be saved, to sin no more.

E’er since, by faith, I saw the stream Thy flowing wounds supply,
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.
And shall be till I die, and shall be till I die;
Redeeming love has been my theme, and shall be till I die.

Then in a nobler, sweeter song, I’ll sing Thy power to save,
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.
Lies silent in the grave, lies silent in the grave;
When this poor lisping, stammering tongue lies silent in the grave.

Citizens and Saints cover

 

Traditional Style with lyrics

Saturday Review: 9/17/16 Edition

If you haven’t caught on yet, I’m experimenting with blogging everyday. For now I’m just seeing how long I can keep it up, and if I miss a day I’ll just pick up and keep going. At least that’s the plan for now. I’m hoping to have a theme per day based on where my interests are right now, and stick with that daily theme every week for as long as I can. For Saturdays I want to do one of the the things I enjoy about some of the blogs I follow, and that’s sharing links to other content I’ve found interesting through the week. I wondered about sharing every link to every video I watched and every article I read during the week. I may do that eventually just to see if I can and how interesting it is for the reader, or even just how fun it is for me to do. But for now I’m just recalling the stuff I’ve enjoyed watching, reading or hearing the most this week, on the spot, and sharing it with you.

Animated Voltage – by Miguel D’Oliveira

First up, I heard this song called Animated Voltage by Miguel D’Oliveira in video essay by Vox earlier this week and was able to find it on YouTube. I found it fun, and it stuck with me.

Homer Simpson: An economic analysis – by Vox

Speaking of Vox, this economic analysis of Homer Simpson is a fun foray into the American middle class squeeze. I’ve been rewatching all the Simpsons with my wife, so this was timely.

The Force Awakens and Star Wars Formula – Analyzed Movie Review – by Chris Stuckmann

I enjoy Chris Stuckmann’s Youtube channel and his unapologetic film nerdery. I hadn’t gotten around to watching his Force Awakens analysis until this week, but I was having Star Wars withdrawals in anticipation for Rouge One. I found this fun and helpful. (PS – language warning, for those concerned)

Trevor Noah from the Daily Show interviews Bill Clinton on today’s political landscape

Something about this conversation intrigued and disturbed me. It’s interesting that Clinton pulls off a very likeable persona even though he’s a dirty old man. I appreciate his humble beginnings and what he has been able to accomplish, but it disturbs me that politicians get away with trails of victims whose absence of voices this election year has created a deafening silence, at least in my ears. Clinton even told Kevin Spacey that House of Cards is basically the reality of Washington. Sickening. My favorite part of this interview is when Noah releases balloons.

Every time I think of Bill Clinton I think of Monica Lewinky’s TED talk on the price of shame. I cried the first time I watched it.

How to Correct Donald Trump in Real Time – by The Nerdwriter

The Nerdwriter is probably my favorite video essayist. His weekly episode this week was about Trump. He has done several essays on Trump and they are always pretty brilliant, and a welcomed calm, cool, and collected critique in an otherwise insane election year. (PS – language warning for those concerned)

 

Technology is taking jobs away from men—and reviving a pre-industrial version of masculinity – by Quartz

From the article:

Few things are considered more manly than providing for and protecting your family. So it’s no wonder that so many men in developed countries are in a crisis, with technology cited as the reason for rising populism and discontent.

http://qz.com/693351/technology-masculinity-under-threat/

Breaking Bad creator Vince Gilligan is making an HBO show about Jonestown

From the article:

The limited series, called Raven, is an adaptation of Tim Reiterman’s account of Jonestown, the American religious commune in Guyana founded by Jim Jones that gained infamy in 1978 when all its members died of cyanide poisoning in an apparent mass suicide.

http://www.vulture.com/2016/09/vince-gilligan-michelle-jonestown-hbo-cult-drama.html

The Plane Highway in the Sky – by Wendover Productions

I’ll never achieve the technical level of nerdery that this guy does, but I enjoy his YouTube channel, and I like flying. This was fascinating.

 

I think I’m going to end it here. There are some articles and videos that will be used in posts I make through the next week where I will focused on just one thing at a time. I hope you enjoyed.