Dunkirk (2017)
Directed by Christopher Nolan
Starring Tom Hardy, Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, and Kenneth Branagh
“You can practically see it from here.
What?
Home.”
In late 1939, the Second World War began in Europe when the Germans invaded Poland. The French and the British, both Polish allies, declared war in response. After the invasion of Poland, Europe held its collective breath. Then in May 1940, the Wehrmacht (German Army) attacked along three fronts: they invaded the low-lands of the Netherlands and Belgium, circumvented the Maginot Line, and struck out across France towards the coast in an audacious run through the Ardennes. The British Expeditionary Force and accompanying Belgian and French forces were cut off, and surrounded along the French coast. As Army Group A of the Wehrmacht resupplied and recuperated, Hitler turned to Hermann Göring and his Luftwaffe. They would be tasked with defeating the surrounded allied forces at Dunkirk.
Yet, the allies were not defeated.
This is the story of Dunkirk— getting home to Britain and surviving to fight another day. Indeed, the allies would return four-years later on the 6 June 1944, landing on beaches of Normandy further to the south.
The film is fictional-factual. The characters are fiction. The evacuation is historical fact.
Nolan uses his trademark non-linear narrative, laying out the film in three threads — land (over one week), sea (over one day), and air (over one hour). On land, we follow a British private Tommy (played by Fionn Whitehead) and another soldier Gibson (played by Aneurin Barnard), as they attempt to escape the beach. On the sea, we follow the captain of a civilian vessel, Mr Dawson (played by Mark Rylance), who is called on to evacuate the stranded soldiers. In the air, we follow a trio of Spitfires as they fly toward France to engage the Luftwaffe.
Nolan expertly weaves these threads together across a relatively short running time of 106 minutes.
Nolan rails against the TV-movie concept. He is a film-maker — not a Netflix or view-it on your iPhone director. This is a film for the big screen. Nolan understands the medium of film. He uses minimal dialogue, which allows for the pictures to tell the story. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema, a first time Nolan collaborator, captures images of desperation and struggle. The energy of each scene is amplified by Hans Zimmer’s incredible metronomical score. One sound stands out: the ticking clock. The film is relentless, a countdown to the imminent demise of the allied forces.
Final thoughts
Dunkirk is a war film unlike any other. The protagonists are beset by insurmountable odds. They hardly fire a shot in anger (more in depression against a Stuka dive-bomber). There is no defining set-piece battle at the film’s climax, designed to demonstrate courage and sacrifice. Dunkirk is an visceral experience. Tension, terror, hope, and relief —the complete spectrum of emotions are conveyed.
Do not wait for the DVD/streaming release. See this film at the cinema.
