July 29th in Chicago, IL. Legend has it that writer/director Christopher Nolan was inspired on a trip with his wife across the English Channel to Dunkirk some 25 years ago. He drafted a 67 page story and decided to shelve it until he became the best director of the early 21st century.
The film is based on the allied evacuation of Dunkirk that took place from 26 May - June 04 1940. Nolan's story is told in three parts: The Mole, The Sea and The Air. The main focus is on small groups within each story, so don't expect a lot of big shots or grandeur, a la Saving Private Ryan or The Longest Day. Nolan keeps it small. I never got the feel that there were over 300,000 soldiers on the beach just waiting for a miracle. Nolan does an excellent job of building tension. The troops on the beach are not constantly strafed by any means, they're just stuck there. Waiting. Rescue or death. It reminded of the scene in Jaws when Quint says he was most scared when it was his turn to be rescued.
The Mole portion deals with the complexities of getting ships in and out of the area in order to evacuate. Kenneth Branagh is the British Naval officer in charge of the pier. He knows he faces an impossible task and remains steadfastly British about it. Every time a ship gets ready to depart, it's strafed by the Luftwaffe. Another failure. The Mole portion also handles the activities on the beach and centers on a few soldiers who are trying anything to get off the beach. This group of soldiers always seem to be going from the frying pan into the fire. Just when they seem to be making it out, things change for the worse. Most of the beach scenes are silent. No dialogue between character just silence. The combination of the silence and Hans Zimmer's score really build the tension.
The Sea portion deals with the Royal Navy's requisitioning of civilian boats to perform the rescue. Mark Rylance plays a man who answers the call and takes his two sons, rather than Royal Navy personnel, on the trip across the Channel. They pick up a soldier stranded on a sunken ship who has no desire to go back to Dunkirk in any way, shape or form. Nolan uses a lot of wide shots to give the viewer the idea of how vast the English Channel is. This reminds everyone that the task will not be easy.
The Air portion deals with the air cover provided by the RAF. It's a tight focus on three pilots, one being Tom Hardy, and their mission. After engaging a group of enemy planes, Hardy quickly finds himself alone (his wing man has to ditch and is rescued by Rylance's character) and with a busted fuel gauge, which will obviously come into play later. Hardy bravely defends ships from air attacks and manages to down a dive bomber about to strafe the crowded pier while out of gas.
The film is a non-linear narrative and all three portions overlap, it took me a few minutes to realize this, so you see things from each group involved. Nolan utilizes the "hide the monster" trope. Aside from the Luftwaffe, the villain, is never shown. They have an ominous presence but they have no face. The acting is great, the cinematography is awesome, the aerial shots are nothing short of amazing and the score is brilliant, expecting nothing less from Hans Zimmer. There's a reason the picture received a 93% rating from Rotten Tomatoes, it's a helluva film. Nolan has cemented himself as a "must see" director and Dunkirk is a film that needs to be experienced in the theater.
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