Amazing sound effects, great pictures and an honest approach to war

Rating: 9/10 (10 August 2017)

To most individuals in my age group (20-30), war is just an abstract image of two or more countries fighting one another for political reasons. In the past, Hollywood has done its job and romanticized and cropped the issue to a victor, a loser, a hero and the people in charge. War is dirty, everyone knows that. It is brutal, sure, leaving lots of injured and traumatized people in its wake. But everyone just looks at the grand scheme of things and it always ends up as an action movie where the focus is set on one invincible individual or two people in love getting driven apart, where they overcome obstacles and survive everything against all odds and the actual war is just background noise, to set the stage for the main plot.
Truth is, we don't really know much about war. We know the numbers and specifics; who won, who lost, who lead it, who initiated it and who ended it. We think it is dragged out and decided by politicians. It is not. Its outcome is dependent on the fate of every man fighting in a war he has no control over. Demanding a tribute of blood and sweat, fear and pain of the soldiers actually living through those moments, having to commit atrocities to survive in the mental state of constant anxiety. Dunkirk encompasses all of the above. When I first watched the trailer I was still critical. I know, a movie directed by Christopher Nolan is in good hands, but can he pull off something that is based upon an actual historic event and is still associated with lots of painful memories and losses (and thus a sensitive topic)? I can assure you, he can. And he did. The movie was surprisingly subtle, an honest one, a painful one, one that grabbed me right where it hurt. It does not dwell on blood and gore, it focuses on the living and their struggle, not the dead. It tells a story about war, where there is no victor, where soldiers fight the battle and not the politicians. It is not a fight between countries, it is a fight between humans. Where emotional pain can be just as powerful as physical one, where heroism isn't always merited and good deeds go unnoticed, where safety is non existent and silence can be more disturbing than noise. In those moments of silence before the bomber group attacks, the heart of the viewer skips a beat in anticipation of the horror that is approaching. It is beautifully woven together to one horrifying portrayal of the events that took place. But not from an outside but an inside perspective. In a set- up of destruction and desperation, no one gets off with a clean slate. No one is invincible. The true heroes are those who show small acts of kindness, even though they didn't have to. Not necessarily those who survive, but those who help others to survive. Those who fight with determination to save lives, not to kill. Never have I been more emotionally involved in a movie without actually having had a proper introduction to the characters. It usually takes quite some time to feel a connection with specific characters. Not this time though. We know none of them and yet we get to observe them in different situations, at different times but fighting the same fight. There isn't really a good and a bad side, it is simply about individuals in a surrounding that can't be escaped. We get to experience different perspectives, bits and pieces that all contribute to the story of this war that rages on water, earth and air. It is a very deep movie with excellent pictures, haunting sound effects and amazing acting. It proves once again that violence doesn't require graphic images and that heavy dialogue isn't everything. The suspense is mainly created via sound or lack thereof, the expectation of what is approaching, having to wait for the inevitable explosion. Dunkirk isn't the 08/15 war movie one might expect, it is not the tale of a hero but surely does a great job at capturing the spectator without making him feel like one. I congratulate Christopher Nolan to this extraordinary picture, that shows humanity in the most inhumane situations, that isn't afraid to skip character development for the benefit of the whole ,,collage" and that brings closer the core aspects of war. It makes clear, there is no glory in war. Which is a reminder the world could definitely benefit from.