Instant classic

Rating: 10/10 (24 July 2017)

I watched, no, witnessed is a better word here, a masterpiece. A true and undisputed masterpiece of modern cinematography. From the very start to the end. Dunkirk is in the same category of movies as The Schindler's List or The Thin Red Line. Though this is not a war movie per se.
Some minor spoilers
There is no enemy shown, though danger and anxiety are omnipresent. From the first scene when in a surreal nightmarish set up the flyers are falling on soldiers from the dark sky. The intimidation tactic works well: you are defeated, we are everywhere and our grip is firming. The bullets are flying. The death toll is rising quickly. And then suddenly the beach. Soldiers queueing, standing in the water and waiting patiently for the rescue.
But there are no real characters here, no development. All of them just puppets in the hand of fate. The name of the game is survival. We barely remember their names, the dialogue is scarce, sometimes inaudible on purpose. There is no need for that. During wartime no one cares about your identity or your background. Nolan shows only what we need to see to tell the story. He is setting up three scenes for us, like in a theatre: the mole, the sky and the sea. Each of them has got a different timeline assigned. A week, a day and an hour. You are sucked into to his vision immediately.
There is one actor that is present here though. Constantly. Never silent. It is Hans Zimmer's score. Pumping anxiety into your bloodstream. From the first second of the movie until the very last. Music is unnerving, it is pulsating feverishly; mechanical tempo created with the sound of a ticking watch. It surrounds you like a tide only to back away, just for a moment though. It never stops completely. Not a one quiet moment. As if Dunkirk is one spectacular video for the music.
The cinematography is also magnificent; wide sombre landscapes are a phenomenal background to the horror conjured by human themselves. Unemotional and raw. No flag waving, no pompous speeches made. The Schindler's List has one very powerful scene that stayed with me. A little girl is running through the Jewish ghetto. Her red coat the only spot of colour in the all grey movie. In Dunkirk same contrast is achieved with the use of red again. This time it is jam, spread thinly on a toast. A memory of home. Heartbreaking.
And there this scene: the conversation between two officers. "The tide is here" says one. "How do you know?". "The bodies have returned". And with that you are punched straight in your gut: soldiers still queuing, knees deep in water, pushing away, ever so gently, floating bodies of their dead brothers in arms.
But it is the grand finale that is truly remarkable. All the timelines finally combined. All the pieces in place. When the crescendo hits I am paralyzed in my armchair. Zimmer's music is flexing its muscle in the full assault on your senses. I realize my hands are clutched tightly. Nails in my flesh. I watch on screen a ship which is starting to move slowly, finally escaping the cold, sandy graveyard. The engines roaring. And then the sky opens up and a massive bomber makes its way towards the survivors.
The guy sitting in front of me is on the edge of his seat. Clutching his head in disbelief. Emotions are running high. Normally I would laugh inside, I would make those jokes about how people can't control themselves. How easy it is for a director to show a couple of tricks to deceive the naïve audience. Not this time though. As I have got goosebumps all over my body. Mesmerized, I watch another plane, a small Spitfire, chasing the dark bomber. Will it catch up on time? This movie does not provide easy answers. No usual war clichés. Anything can happen.
Dunkirk is something that needs to be seen in a cinema. The bigger the screen the better. This is a movie made by a director and a composer in the peak of their prowess. Best Nolan movie so far. That's for sure. An instant classic.