The clock's ticking

Rating: 9/10 (7 August 2017)

Dunkirk is without a doubt my favourite cinema experience of the year so far. I mean, thats not that hard to achieve since in 2017 the only films I've watched in the theatre were John Wick 2, Ghost in the Shell, Spider Homecoming, the more recent Transformers (bleh, bleh, bleh) and Despicable Me 3 (yeah, I did). The rest of it were at home. And although John Wick and Spidey were very good flicks, they weren't as gripping and intense as Nolan's Dunkirk. You know you're in for a ride from very first shot. In two minutes it's already kicking the fan. When we reach the beach and see what many have to do in order to survive comes the sudden realisation of the hopeleness and the miracle that needs to happen to bring all of those soldiers back home. The three separate timelines were just perfect to brilliantly tell this story. The mesh so well and make the film fell fluid and dynamic, always moving, interconnecting events and characters, almost like chapters of a book. We don't get to know much of the characters but I believe that what we're given is enough to figure out ourselves some of the backstory and motivations of the characters. The collective is what's a stake here. We might be confused when trying to identify who's who, specially on the big setpieces, but that just adds to viscerality and intensity Dunkirk excels in delivering. Both the photography and soundtrack are amazing. One friend of mine jokingly told me a few das ago that the music just wouldn't stop and became ad eternum. I didn't know what make of this, but believe that if it was well executed, Nolan could do whatever he wanted. Spoiler - it was. The OST makes for the lack of dialogue - yes, this is almost a silent film - and elevates the action and the stakes. It fits like a glove into the overall tone of Dunkirk. Actingwise is very solid - shoutout to Styles who really held his ground and turned a surprisingly convincing performance. Hardy is brief but gets the hang of it. The rest of the cast is quite good, with many of the actors being unknown, another factor that contributes to establish the collective over the individual.
Got to give it to Nolan.