Dunkirk

Dunkirk is a very different kind of war movie. The dialogue is kept to a minimum, and the visuals and score do all the talking.

The story is well known of course. Early in WWII, the Germans forced French and British troops to the northern French shoreline at Dunkirk. About 400,000 troops are trapped on the beaches waiting for evacuation – which proves very difficult as navy ships have hardly any options to come close enough to shore. In the meantime, German planes bomb the ships, beaches and troops, to such an extent that Churchill admits they can probably not rescue more than 30,000 of them. The British navy decides to employ an armada of local civilian boats from the along the English coastline as they would more likely be able to land on the beaches, but of course they have to cross the channel first and may not make it there in time, if at all.

The story is well known of course.

Director Christopher Nolan lets us experience this piece of history by means of three storylines: one on land, one in the air, and one on the sea. With dialogue being minimal, it is all about the combination of Hoyte van Hoytema’s beautiful visuals and Hans Zimmer’s nerve-wracking score to tell the story. And that works very well.

This movie doesn’t intend to bring a lot of depth in specific characters or events – it is all about the visceral experience created by being thrown in the middle of ‘Dunkirk’ and feeling it. A wonderful feat of filmmaking.

★★★★☆