Christopher Nolan's latest movie about the evacuation of British and French troops in WWII opens with a few simple lines of text on a black screen.
"THE ENEMY HAVE DRIVEN THE BRITISH AND FRENCH ARMIES TO THE SEA
TRAPPED AT DUNKIRK, THEY AWAIT THEIR FATE
HOPING FOR DELIVERANCE
FOR A MIRACLE"
This film is truly incredible. It finds a way to express war without trivializing it. If you choose to see it in IMAX, all of your senses are intensified. The almost tangible pressure and suspense of the troops trying to get home before their German enemies kill all of them off — it's something that I've never seen before. This was the first film of Christopher Nolan's that I've seen, and it certainly did not disappoint.
In terms of plot, Nolan found a way to intertwine three viewpoints - one of a soldier, one of a man and his son trying to save as many troops as possible, and one of a British fighter pilot - and make the viewer realize the harsh reality of war, whether you're on land, air, or sea. Additionally, Hans Zimmer made an incredible soundtrack. A big factor of this score is the constant recurrence of a ticking clock, which gives the perfect amount of suspense to make the viewer feel like time is running out. Nolan also uses the unique "Shepard tone," which is an eerie audio illusion where there is a continuing ascension of tone. It keeps building up and up but never really "drops" which adds to the heightened senses of fear and blends with the harsh sound effects to make the experience as immersive as possible.
Another very unique aspect of this film is the cinematography. Shot on 65 mm film stock, the slight grain of some scenes contributes to the 1940's bit of it all. There was also minimal dialogue, which I found to be really interesting. Whenever a character did speak, it pulled you in and made you listen. However, since most of the movie was based on actions, it made the viewer pay close attention to the body language of the characters.
Harry Styles, who plays Alex, has said, "There are no crazy back stories to any of the characters... They're a relatively blank slate, and it means when you're watching it, you're kind of projecting your fear. You're watching them, just imagining it as you." I find this to be especially touching because in a war movie such as this, there's no time to focus on where each character came from. All that matters is what is happening right on the battlefield, and since they are introduced with no preface or context, it's very easy to imagine yourself as any of the characters.
To sum it all up, Dunkirk is definitely one of my favorite movies. As a history nerd and a cinematography nerd, this combined so many of my passions and it exceeded my expectations. While I admit I also saw this because of Harry Styles' breakout role as Alex, he was fantastic and showed so much passion. His character was unlikable and complicated, but I did understand why his character made the choices that he did (even if I didn't agree). At the end of the movie, the two captains realize that instead of saving 30,000 men, they ended up saving 338,000. Dunkirk is the perfect homage to this battle, and I'm glad that I got to experience it.
