Dunkirk

The War Movie

My opinion will come out in my writing, why? Because I am a Christopher Nolan Fanatic. Nolan, arguably one of the greatest filmmakers of our time, has taken on many daunting tasks throughout his years as a director. His last movie, Interstellar, was a worldwide sensation that captivated audiences dreams and fears all within the short 2 hours and 49-minute run length. After a tale about interstellar travel and the love that connects us all, the moviegoers everywhere patiently waited for Nolan’s next release. After 3 years, the wait was over. A short teaser for his next film was released. The trailer, which gave almost no information at all, pictured several hundred men crowded on a pier. The sound of an approaching plane in the distance sent fear into the soldier’s faces as it grew closer. Then it ends, without one answer to our many questions. The only thing to keep us satisfied is the word Dunkirk. With my limited knowledge of basic European history, the only thing I knew about Dunkirk is that it was an evacuation out of France during WW2. A documentary was all I would need to gain a full understanding of the topic, luckily that is what Nolan gave us with his new film.

The comparison of Nolan’s film to a documentary has no negative connotation. Some of the greatest films are documentaries and Nolan’s new project fits into this category. In this movie, there are still plenty of big-name Hollywood actors, such a Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance and Cillian Murphy. Nolan also experimented with plenty of no-name actors to play the main roles of the film. These actors displayed their talent not through the film’s minimal dialogue but rather through the expression of fear. Fear carries the entire plot forward. The plot itself is split into three parts. The first is in the air since pilots during WW2 only spent around an hour in the air during each mission, we only see an hours worth of fear from the pilots. The second is sea, ships took day trips out to sea during the war, so we experience a day’s worth of fear at sea. The third is land, infantrymen spent a week in battle at a time, so we get a week’s worth of fear from the soldiers. Each of these three stories ends up mixing at one point or another creating a smooth finish for the film. From start to finish the film contains “edge on your seat” scenes. There is no break for the audience to breath, yet the desire to exhale is never experienced. With no use of any special effects, Nolan creates a frighteningly realistic take on the infamous battle at Dunkirk. After the film is complete the characters are unknown to us, we never learn their backstories or why they are fighting, because fear has taken hold of them. In a real battle, the soldiers have no desire to talk about where they came from, they are too focused on staying alive, and Nolan captures this in his new Masterpiece, Dunkirk.