Dunkirk (TMC): why was the representation and place of the French army in the film controversial?

Dunkirk is broadcast this Monday, May 8 on TMC. This film, which retraces the famous Operation Dynamo during the Second World War, caused controversy because of the way in which the French army is represented. Explanations.

This Monday, May 8 at 9:25 p.m. on TMC will be broadcast Dunkirk. A film written and directed by Christopher Nolan, which was released in 2017 at the cinema. The story immerses the public in the middle of the Second World War, in May 1940. It was then nearly 400,000 French, Belgian, British and Canadian soldiers who found themselves surrounded by the German army, which took possession of Dunkirk. It was then that Operation Dynamo was set up. The goal? Evacuate Allied soldiers from the beaches and the port of Dunkirk to England. The film is particularly interested in the fates and the mobilization of English soldiers and civilians during this operation.

Dunkirk made a splash with the public

When it was released in cinemas, the film was a real success. A week after being shown, it exceeded 925,000 admissions in France. On the United States side, $50 million in revenue was recorded in the space of just four days. The success is such that Dunkirk won three Oscars in 2018. Those for Best Editing, Best Sound Editing and Best Sound Mixing. He was also nominated in five other categories. But, despite this worldwide success, Dunkirk caused controversy in France…

A film that divides despite its success

If Christopher Nolan’s film has suffered some criticism in France, it is in particular for its representation of the place of the French army. The press, moreover, was not kind to the film, as The worldwho wondered where were “the 120,000 French soldiers also evacuated from Dunkirk” who did not appear or mention on screen. “Where are the other 40,000 who sacrificed themselves to defend the city against an enemy superior in arms and numbers?” had regretted the daily. Historian Dominique Lormier was a little less scathing in saying that “the film was honest”but that he “reports an Anglo-Saxon point of view and does not have a panoramic view of events”, while regretting that the contribution of the French has not been sufficiently highlighted

Article written with the collaboration of 6Medias.