Just short of a Masterpiece .

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2017)

DUNKIRK - Talk about visual treat . Waaow. But I can't start my review before mentioning how much I Love Christopher Nolan . He is the living God of movie-making. Only he can does what he does.
Where I put Dunkirk ? - his 7th best , behind - TDK , TDKR , INCEPTION , INTERSTALLER , PRESTIGE and MEMENTO. That's pretty behind as per his standard but it's still the best movie of this year.
I was almost hopeless about getting the chance to watch this movie on big screen , but I got it , while I was on holiday , unexpectedly . One of those instances when God listens to your prayer.
Nolan had said that he had studied various movies before making Dunkirk. 2 of the major movies were Saving Private Ryne and Unstoppable. Just think about mixing two of such distinct directors - Spielberg and Late Tony Scott , and you could get what Nolan has brought to the table here.
Dunkirk is a fast movie , time ticking , nail biting (in a literal sense I was biting my nails) thriller . You can say Nolan has made his own Sub Genre inside the Genre of War movies. That's why you can't call it Nolan's Saving Private Ryne which people were calling it before release. Because it very unique and totally owned by Nolan. It's his own Dunkirk. Its not Inspired. It will inspire future movies.
But you must know about the movie and history behind it before watching it or it can confuse you. Don't worry I will make an exception for this film and give you a crash coarse .
It's about Dunkirk evacuation on a French Beach during WW2 , the biggest evacuation in the history of War. Almost 400000 soldiers were there in that beach and as per Wikipedia 338226 soldiers were saved . Thats the basic plot of the movie. But Nolan doesn't make movies that simple. He told the story with three prospective.
1st - THE MOLE - Telling it from the view point of various Soldiers on the ground (including former One Direction Singer Harry Style , performing very decently) showing a period of 1 Week.
2nd - THE SEA - Telling it from the view point of a Civilian MARK RYLANCE sailing to Dunkirk to help the soldiers , showing a period of 1 day.
& 3rd - THE AIR - Telling it from the view point of Aircrafts with Tom Hardy trying to save the Soldiers from above , showing a period of 1 hour.
All these stories run simultaneously , and get connected at the end. But it seeks concentration. If you will loose the concentration it may make you confuse.
It's a very short film (107mins) . And that was the aim of Nolan. He doesn't wanted to make a conventional war film. There was no politics , no backstories , no photos in the pocket of soldiers for emotional connection , no person shown waiting for the soldiers in the home. The movie shows the physical pain they have to tackle while they were within the war.
You see different emotions , fear , selfishness , unclear mind , hope , within the soldier. They would do anything to go home.
Two important things - Musical score and Cinematography were almost two characters in the movie.
The camera moves very swiftly. Specially in THE AIR section , you feel the movie like you are inside the Aircraft. But it's wonderful throughout the film. It's very bleak and grim . Showing hopelessness. No sign of Sunlight. Beautiful and Horrifying at the same time. Once you see beautiful sea water below the boat , after sometime in other scene you see dead bodies floating in the same water. It's worth an Oscar nomination. What makes it more gorgeous is the least use of Visual effects. I can't point out a single scene which didn't seemed realistic. Add the wide angles and clearity of IMAX camera to it. And it's perfect. Although I haven't seen it in Imax Screen.
But the real winner here is the musical score . You can't beat Hans Zimmer in Orchestral music. The intensity of the synthesizer mixed with the ticking clock is exceptional. Zimmer always saves his best for Nolan. The score is so complimentary to the film is that sometimes you can't even differentiate between the score and the sound of weapons.
Which brings me to Sound effect and Sound mixing department. Which are two guaranteed Oscar wins for this film. The effects were so perfect that the sound of bombs will make your heart jump outside your chest. Will shake your eardrums.
The editing is exceptional. On par with Inception. The transition between three time-line is smooth (if only you concentrate enough) and not a single unwanted scene. The movie keeps on moving every time. Never stops . No time for talk. The survival was continuous from the very first second till the very last second of the movie. I am sensing another guaranteed Oscar here.
But he faulted in some minor things here . Which doesn't happen frequently . There was a scene in the end when it's not shown clearly how Tom Hardy destroyed enemy's plane , it's just shown that something hit it and we have to assume it's Tom Hardy's plane. Also the whole 1week part was not shown correctly . What I mean that I only sensed two nights , and three days , it didn't show all 7 days which felt a little awkward.
This story couldn't have get a better treatment.
And yes , you must see it in the best possible screen available to you.
8.9/10 ANuP APu KuMaR.