An impactful, immersive experience.

Rating: 10/10 (15 September 2017)

Dunkirk was Christopher Nolan's latest film, which I had the pleasure of watching last week. Dunkirk tells the story of 400 000 men trapped, awaiting evacuation.
What the film felt like for me, was an immediately immersive experience. Nolan places us straight into the action as we are plunged into the city of Dunkirk with Tommy and his mates.Immediately, from the very beginning, you could feel the tension begin to build as the soldiers find themselves in an abandoned city. Where is everyone? Then the leaflets come down, and then we see their plight. Surrounded. On all sides. Then the shooting begins, and Nolan cleverly makes the decision to not show the Germans, instead having us watch Tommy leap and vault away, eventually reaching the beach. With no portrayal of the German soldiers, Nolan is placing us, effectively, in Tommy's point of view, where all he really knows is someone is shooting at him, and he needs to run. And we do feel Tommy's desperation as his friends are cut down, and he vaults and drops his gun because they just keep coming and-
And then he reaches the beach.
All those men, just standing there. Already the tension from the chase is slowly fading. But Zimmer's excellent soundtrack begins to rebuild that tension, as the ominous sounds build up to the bomber strike. Everything feels like we are there, with them, being bombed, running from enemies we can't really make out. This movie delivered a powerfully drawn story of survival, even when interlocked with the story of the courage of the sailors like Dawson who sail out to sea of their own volition. Dunkirk works because it seems real. We are given probably as much information as Tommy has. It feels real, and their actions feel completely valid, think of the soldier screaming for "the bloody air force!" It feels impacting because we have just witnessed the destruction wrought by the Luftwaffe, and where were the air force? The lack of dialogue feels natural, as Tommy has just had all his friends killed in an ambush, and then witnessed the great British Army trapped and desperate. We can feel the desperation, the longing of the soldiers, because as they point out, it's just right there now, they can see it, just barely out of their grasp. Home. Safety.
I want to explain for a second why the characters can be developed without dialogue. What we are meant to feel for these soldiers is empathy. Because all they want to do is two main things. One:Live. Two: Go home If you can't empathize with that, then, well, could you empathize with 9/11 victims? Did you feel for them? Unless you're a sociopath, of course! Did you need dialogue? Backstories? No. Because they are ordinary people, trapped in a disastrous event, facing death and injury when home and safety is oh so close. And that is exactly what every soldier in Dunkirk faces. Finally, I would like to mention the beautiful, powerful cinematography, whether the explosions on the destroyer to the tension of the aerial battle. I would just like to note here: Hardy shooting down the last dive bomber is completely possible. Nolan researched every part of the movie. The plot's structure is slightly strange, and off- putting at certain times, yes. But it allows Nolan to advance all the stories equally, and maintain the tension at high stakes. Especially in the Sea plot line, where all three lines intersect. George's death, Peter lying to the Soldier. When it all comes together, the bomber coming back around. And then you realize that Hardy has already shot the plane down, but now you see what the effect of that is from another point of view. And it allows Nolan to unite all 3 lines for a singular, powerful ending.
This is why Dunkirk works. This is why Dunkirk is truly stunning, moving and full of tension, at all times, with Nolan and Hoytema's cinematography leaping to stunning life, and Zimmer's tension-filled score in the background.
I have a new favorite war film. Thank you, Mr. Nolan.
9.6/10