Best movie of the year (so far), hands down

Rating: 9/10 (21 July 2017)

"Dunkirk" (2017 release; 106 min.) brings the real story of the WWI evacuation from Dunkirk. As the movie opens, we are informed that the English and French troops are "trapped at Dunkirk, awaiting their fate". We then are introduced to three separate story lines: 1. The Mole (one week(, 2. The Sea (one day) and 3. The Air (one hour). We get to know Tommy, a British solder who is desperately trying to find a way off the beach, back home. Meanwhile, Mr. Dawson and 2 younger boys are readying their small Moontime boat to cross the English Channel towards Dunkirk. And in the third story line, we see three Spitfires watching in the skies for sign of any German planes. At this point we're 10 min. into the movie, but to tell you more of the plot would spoil your viewing experience, you'll just have to see for yourself how it all plays out.
Couple of comments: this is the latest movie from writer-producer-director Christopher Nolan. He can do almost no wrong in my book, and his movies are EVENTS. Here he brings perhaps the finest movie of his career, bringing an ol' fashioned WWII true story (it's pretty amazing to think that since WWII ended over 7 decades ago, the Dunkirk evacuation has never been made into a movie--not counting the many documentaries of course). There is relatively little dialogue in the movie, so all the drama and tension comes from simply observing what plays out. And how dramatic it is! This is one of those movies that simply BEGS to be seen on the big screen. I must admit that the air battle scenes were simply out of this work. I cannot recall seeing a more thrilling account of WWII air battles since "The Battle of Britain". The reported production budget for this was $150 mill, and you can see why. Even better, we (or at least I) feel emotionally invested every single minute of this movie. This is mostly a no-name cast, with works great for this type of movie. Kenneth Branagh has a fairly small role as the pier master, and Tom Hardy is one of the Spitfire pilots. Bottom line: this is for me, hands down, the best film of 2017 so far.
"Dunkirk" opened wide this weekend, and I literally couldn't wait to see it. The Friday early evening screening where I saw this at here in Cincinnati was PACKED to the rafters, I am happy to report. The couple next to me seemed as into the movie as I was (I saw the woman hide her eyes with her hands on several occasions). Given the stellar critical acclaim this has been getting, and the strong word-of-mouth that surely will follow, I can see his movie having long legs at the box office, and deservedly so. "Dunkirk" is HIGHLY, HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!