Tuesday 22 August 2017

The Butterflies of Dunkirk.

outside/sunday night


How do you think the world is going to end? An explosion; a sudden burning up and then an explosion or Biblical floods and then an explosion?

Boy, you’re in a happy mood; what happened?

I went to the cinema and watched Dunkirk.

Christopher Nolan’s new film?

That’s the one.

You’re a fan of his work I believe.

Certainly am, I’ve been trying to get people to come and see it with me all summer, made it finally last night.

And?

How do you think the world is going to end?

I think it will start with butterflies.

What?

Butterflies, or moths; something that no one notices until it is too late, and most of the time we will be wondering at the beauty of it all and then it will be gone.

Moths?

They’ll strip the hedgerows, their natural habitat and then in their millions strip all the food, everywhere.

Even the figs?

It will start with the figs. Then, the raspberries.

What’s got into YOU?

The moths.

Box moths?

Their the ones, it’s the start of the end and no one has noticed because they look so pretty.

That wasn’t the message of the film, death looked pretty ugly.

The gunshots really scared me.

You should be scared of gunshots.

But no one is scared of butterflies.


8 comments:

Mary said...

WOW - pretty serious stuff. I was planning to see the movie, Dunkirk, this evening but now not sure if I should. Sounds frightening and depressing, like most of the news these days. Perhaps I'll just don my rose-coloured glasses and stay home and watch something light, like La La Land. Todd Rundgren said it best -- Love is the Answer.

Take care of yourselves,
Mary x

popps said...

NO GO!!! GO see the film, it's really good - great cinematography, great atmosphere,
just be scared of these butterflies/moths which are outbreaking .

popps said...

And the message has to be survival.

It is intense, it's not a ride in the park but it is exhilarating.

Mary said...

Now I am confused. I decided to see poltical [and true?] drama, The Journey - about a meeting between Ian Paisley and the leader of the IRA. Mostly dialogue and not much CGI which I know Christopher Nolan loves.

What to do? Flip a coin?

Mx

popps said...

DONT be confused, GO see Nolan's film.
There is very little dialogue and he has avoided CGI, deliberately using old theatrical visual tricks instead.
The ensemble is a visual and textual treat.
The butterflies are something else, they are not in the film but devouring the local countryside around here and happened to coincide with my trip to the cinema.

Mary said...

Well -- I went to see Dunkirk. Cinematography and SOUND were great. Also, good mix of action and artistry, even poetry. [I must say that I preferred the evacuation scenes in Atonement which featured a more chaotic and grittier beach.] Still I'm not sure if it honours the sacrifice or just romanticizes war. Horrific to be sure and such a waste of lives not to mention brainpower and resources that would have a greater potential to enhance the people, animals, and ecosystems on this planet. It didn't seem to me that the women in the audience 'enjoyed' the movie -- could be one of those things where, for whatever reason, men experience the film differently than women. I think I noticed 2 women in the entire film -- on the rescue boats? Branaugh was very stiff and under-utilized. I loved the main character, Tommy, who takes us on his journey through these various circles of hell.

Just one note about Nolan and how he plays with time - interesting but can be confusing to the point that you lose the sense of it. Just my opinion.

Don't know about the butterflies/moths. Here there seem to be fewer and fewer of them.

Mx

popps said...

Ah good - AND you are a woman!! And you seem to have enjoyed it!
I was worried i had put you off.
Maybe, just maybe the lack of females in the film has something to do with the reality of combat at that time, it was the men who did it and i maybe wrong but i think the British military at that time (1940) wouldn't allow women to fight.
Personally i always thought it was just stupid males that fought and killed and i am disappointed that women want to make war too - but what do i know about anything?
Film - i know when i like a film and this one i like, i agree with you about the sound, it was a BIG part of the film and i thought the interpretation and quality of the gun shots, attacking planes etc was so much more menacing that is usual in film.
I was terrified and traumatised.
Which is why the butterflies are bothering me.
they are the box moth and , apparently, they are an invasive species here and they have destroyed ALL the box growing in the area like a plague and now they are everywhere in their thousands and i hope they are not going to change and adapt and start eating all the other vegetation.
My fig tree is white there are so many on it and at night it is like driving through snow.


popps said...

oh, and i guess you should read this - it's related-ISH.
http://www.bbc.com/culture/story/20170817-do-men-and-women-find-different-films-funny