One of the best films of 2017

Rating: 10/10 (11 April 2018)

A cinematic masterpiece! Deserves to be seen on the big screen.
There are not many films that keep you on the edge of your seat throughout. Dunkirk manages this quite effortlessly and then some. At the end of the 106 minutes I was both exhilarated and relieved. What a pulse pounding thrill ride ! Quite unlike anything I have ever seen.
There is not much dialogue in the film. Nolan manages to make the visuals do all the talking. He has crafted some of the most epic scenes I have ever seen in a war movie. In fact not just in a war movie , in any movie ever. This has got to be one of my favorite movies. The violence is kept to a minimum. It doesn't rely on it but rather on it's visuals and haunting imagery.
Nolan is known for exposition in his works . I have not been a fan of that and thankfully it's non existent here. This movie is all about war and characters trying to survive in it. The sound design is just incredible. Hans Zimmer's score is innovative and keeps us on our toes. Also impressive is the structure .....but the less said about it the better. It's better to find out for yourself. I love Nolan's insistence on practical effects instead of using CGI. The sequences on the beach , the ship and the sky are all spectacularly filmed. It is impressive how Nolan has put this all the elements together. Kudos to him!
The movie is also supported by a great cast. The lead young actor is stunning. So is the rest of cast Harry Styles, Barry Keoghan, Mark Rylance , Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy and Tom Hardy who all bring their A game.
Yes the movie may not be for everyone. The characters don't have a backstory, we don't know much about them. They are sometimes indistinguishable in the middle of the battle scenes. The traditional drama is kept to a minimum.
These are all conscious choices of course on the part of the director. It's clear that he wants to immerse us in the war and this is how war is. Characters you meet don't share their life story , war scenes are generally chaotic and most often you don't know where you are , forget about others.
This is probably Nolan's most mature work. Might not be a stretch to call it his best.