Had any acclaimed war film skipped its introductory acts and instead launched into its grueling and haunting climax that would allow it to grow more notable with age instead of fading into mediocrity, one would have "Dunkirk." Directed by Christopher Nolan, this striking film explores the historic evacuation of nearly 400,000 men from a beach off the Northern coast of France. Their only goal, survival, is constantly threatened by the faceless enemy in the sky. The bombs and gunfire raining down upon the white sand deliver an irrefutable fear in both the hearts of the soldiers and in the audience—because while ‘Dunkirk’ is an excellent film, it is an unnerving one as well.
For the most part, this is due to the excellent score crafted by Hans Zimmer. Welding ambient notes with crescendos without swells of hope and pride, Zimmer creates the perfect soundtrack to fear and paranoia. With this, Nolan creates feelings of suspense even in the shots without terrifying imagery because of the incessant ticking that accompanies Zimmer’s ambient themes. Even without the haunting score, the raw collection of shots looking up at a German plane and hearing its guttural approach to the beach is enough to cause panic. The common fear that many war films associate with is not one that characterizes ‘Dunkirk’. The helpless panic experienced by these soldiers is unabating. The audience too feels this sense of powerlessness, for all they can do is watch.
The narrative is split into three parts; the mole, (named for the docks and pier that the British use to evacuate their men from the beach) which takes place over one week; the sea, which occurs in one day; and the sky, which cumulates in one hour. These individual stories, in the end, make a whole, as is familiar in many of Nolan’s other films (‘Memento’, ‘Following’). Nolan’s inventive use of time and a broken narrative feels increasingly real as the film approaches its third act. To the very week, the very day, the very hour that the film unfolds, the audience feels that they are running out of time.
Yet we are left with little else. The film delves unrelentlessly into the atrocities and horrors that unfold during the war, rendering the soldiers as mere puppets controlled by the circumstances thrown at them. The minimalistic screenplay, also written by Nolan, does not go into the backstories of the characters fighting for their lives. Some viewers may find themselves with unanswered questions because of this choice, slightly detracting from their experience with the film, but it does not matter. This film is not about a soldier’s life; it is about his fight for it.
The minimalism is also supported greatly by the talented score of actors that portray these men. Veteran actors Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh stand out among a string of newcomers; Fionn Whitehead, whom the segments in the mole center around, Aneurin Barnard, and Harry Styles. This talented group of actors supplies excellent performances, vying for the audience’s support (easily given) when the odds are constantly against them.
The battle scenes are helmed together in a way that seems natural and deliberate. ‘Dunkirk’ delivers on all visual aspects spectacularly, leaving not a single shot feeling misplaced or foreign. Every bomb dropped, wave lapping the sand, soldier standing in line, plane crash, and rescue mission is done with the intention of adding to the opus of violence and dismay. This is due to Nolan’s expertise behind the camera and because of his decision to shoot mainly on-location. (I found this out later; the added realism makes the film more interesting because of its dedication to history.) The white beach in the movie is not just a Hollywood set decorated with CGI. The beach is real, the war is real, and all one has to do is step into a theater.
‘Dunkirk’ is set to be a success not only because of its visual spectacle and its superb actors but because of its ability to feel relevant and real. One can only hope for a film as mesmerizing and memorable as this one. Even after the men have found home, after they have abandoned the beaches and the seas and the skies, they linger in the hearts of the audience well after the ticking has stopped.
