It's not a film, it's an experience (And a misunderstood one)

Rating: 10/10 (7 December 2017)

I know that I have been a few months behind writing this review (despite the fact that I watched the film a week after release) but I could find very little time to write a review, so here I am, sharing my experience of what seems to be a marvelous but misunderstood spectacle.
Before I start, we all know that war is banal, and war is hell. It's terrifying, much more to those who have never experienced it. That is what Dunkirk succeeds at. As the first scene rolled, I was immediately taken into the battle, and this is became the entire film, and I immediately felt as if I was there. Take other war films like Pearl Harbor or Saving Private Ryan, and take away such as the first 90 minutes of the former and the soap operas of the latter and immediately go to the direct sequences such as D-Day, Battle of the Bulge or the attack of Pearl Harbor itself. This is what Dunkirk is. Just about the evacuation itself. Nolan's direction, the film's incredibly realistic sounds, the beautiful cinematography and Hans Zimmer's score (although it is not melodic as his previous works, but still a triumph) became the storyteller of this 109 minute spectacle. We can clearly see what Nolan is trying to do here, attempting to create suspense through cinematography and music.
The main criticism it seems I have heard from most moviegoers who had seen this film is that there is no story, which is the weakest part of this film. In my honest opinion, this is what strengthens the film, and most moviegoers have lost the point seeing Dunkirk. Do not expect watching Dunkirk as a traditional war film like SPR or Hacksaw Ridge. Dunkirk is all about being in the moment, living and experiencing what its like in the battle, and Nolan gives us three perspectives of the battle itself, from the land, air and sea. All three scenes were never dull and I was completely riveted in every scene. There is little dialogue in the film here and yes, there are no background stories for the characters centered here in the film. Unlike old war films which is only centered around one protagonist or a group of people, Dunkirk itself is trying to center itself on all 300,000 men that were being evacuated on the beach in the battle. There is no time for heroics here. Dunkirk manages to portray war for what it really is, and from every scene such as the dogfights and where the soldiers were in danger of the next German plane, you will begin to ask yourself if whether these men are really going to make it out of there alive, because people die in war regardless and there are no heroes in real war. Do not bother trying to find a 100% historical accurate film here, for much of it's generally realistic portrayal of evacuation, there are still some historical inaccuracies to be found here. But Nolan wasn't trying to tell the history of this battle, this is still a film. We have to follow the centered characters in each shot and follow what the horrors of war have done to them, even when they weren't fighting any German soldiers. Borrowing elements from films like Alien & Jaws, German soldiers in here were never seen except until the end only as silhouettes. Nolan's idea of making them as an anonymous force works well here. By showing less, they were trying to tell more.
I have never been immersed in cinema before until I watched Dunkirk. Throughout the entire film, I have never felt more scared and horrified what war really is until I seen Dunkirk. Christopher Nolan understands what film was made for, to truly show you how it feels to be there rather than attempting to tell a story. There is no blood and gore here, there are no limbs flying around like Saving Private Ryan succeeded at doing. But Nolan gives enough action here to show you how terrifying and horrific war can still be even if said things didn't happen. War films like Saving Private Ryan are about a group of people reacting to war. Dunkirk itself is ONLY about war, and how horrific, terrifying and it can traumatize you when you are absolutely stuck in the middle of it.
Dunkirk in my honest opinion, is Nolan's best-work since the Dark Knight, and could be even better. Nolan has reinvented the war genre to something different here with his approach. Dunkirk sits above with Saving Private Ryan as one of the greatest war films ever made. Hans Zimmer's score here is his probably his best work with Nolan. Before watching this film, don't expect Dunkirk to be a traditional war film, because it is not. Dunkirk by far is not a film, but an experience.
By treddfurious: Dunkirk gets a deserving A+, and one of 2017's best picture by far.