Dunkirk (2017)

It's undeniable that Christopher Nolan is one of the best directors of our time. Over the years, this man has given us masterpiece after masterpiece, and Dunkirk is another of those. And I say that as someone who isn't a fan of war movies.

Yes, Nolan's latest is a war movie that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation that took place during World War II as hundreds of thousands of British and French soldiers were surrounded by the German Army and their only way out was the sea, and it's told from three different perspectives, that of a soldier (Fionn Whitehead) waiting to be rescued, that of two RAF fighter pilots (Tom Hardy and Jack Lowden) and that of a group of civilians on their boat that is sent to help in the evacuation.

Like many of Nolan's films, Dunkirk too has a non-linear narrative structure, which is pretty uncommon for a war movie, but considering that this film doesn't have a plot, just an unbelievable, true story that needed to be told, the way the story is told is what makes it work. Also, telling the story from three different perspectives, land, air and sea, provides a great insight into the evacuation and shows how hard they all worked to make it happened.

The unusual storytelling isn't the only aspect of the film that makes it not your typical war movie. There are some great battle sequences (that always leaves the enemy unseen) but their only purpose is to show the odds against which the soldiers had to survive and how brave those civilians were putting their lives at risk to rescue the soldiers.

Warner Bros. Pictures
The characters are also very unusual for a war film. Usually, the story revolves around a bunch of soldiers that we get to know and care about. Not in Nolan's film. There are a lot of characters in this one, all lacking in depth and development and with no backstories; most of them don't even have a name. To my understanding, many said this ruined the film for them since they are given nothing to get invested in them. In my opinion, this is Dunkirk's greatest strength. Nolan didn't want to tell the story of another soldier, he wanted to tell the story of Dunkirk and that's exactly what he did. As I see it, if you focus too much on the characters, the film ends up being about them and not about the events portrayed. 

Now one may think that because of the lack of a strong protagonist Dunkirk lacks emotional impact but this is just not the case. There isn't the typical brotherhood amongst men usually seen in war movies, there's no sort of emotional connection between the characters, and the actors don't show a wide range of emotions (not a single actor though did a thing about of character, and they all give believable performances) but going as far as saying it's not emotional, well, it's preposterous. There's no war film that made me as emotional as Dunkirk did. 

Then there's everything else. The spectacular opening scene, the stunning, breathtaking cinematography, and the outstanding and dramatic score by Hans Zimmer that fitted the film to perfection and brought tension and suspense up to the sky. 

Dear haters, please tell me how this is a failed experiment. 

11 comments :

  1. Ok, siamo d'accordo su Nolan! Anch'io avevo molta paura per la sua scelta di avventurarsi nel genere di guerra, oltre che in una storia realmente accaduta. Mi sembrava qualcosa di completamente diverso da quanto fatto in precedenza. E invece, anche questa volta, mi ha stupito alla grande, lanciando Dunkirk al top della mia personale classifica dei film da lui realizzati. Devo ammettere, però, che visto a casa con il bluray perde un po' del suo fascino da cinema puro. Quindi, ridimensionato, lo metto a pari merito con The Prestige ;)
    Un saluto,
    Fede

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    1. Io purtroppo non l'ho visto al cinema quindi non posso fare il paragone (comunque in IMAX non c'era nella mia città) ma anche in bluray è spettacolare.

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  2. What the ...??? Who says it is a 'failed experiment'? I, too, will be interested to read such comments. I've seen other ridiculous criticism...

    Anyway, 'Dunkirk' for me is easily the best film for 2017. Outstanding in every aspect. A fine piece of art. The only bad thing about it, well not exactly about the film itself, is that I doubt 'Dunkirk' will be honoured an Oscar in any major category (well, Director most importantly).

    By the way, I could say I'm a bit sad you missed it on big screen. You would have enjoyed it even more (be it with a tiny bit). And Hans Zimmer's score on a good sound system is really something.

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  3. A me invece non ha convinto del tutto. Certo, tecnicamente è superlativo (come tutti i film di Nolan) e la sceneggiatura (anche questa come tutti i film di Nolan) è un perfetto gioco di in castri. Però è dal punto di vista etico che non mi piace: per 3/4 di film mette in mostra il dramma, il disagio, la paura nel volto dei poveri soldati, denuncia l'insensatezza della guerra e poi... l'ultima parte è una caduta di stile (per me) verso il patriottismo più stucchevole (la scena dell'aviatore che atterra in mezzo alle linee nemiche mi ha infastidito non poco...). Insomma, il "solito" Nolan: maniacale, perfezionista, emozionante e piuttosto ambiguo. Lui è così :)

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    1. Hai proprio ragione sulla scena dell'aviatore. Poteva benissimo evitarsela.

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  4. It was a great movie, some things worked amazingly, and some things were maybe a little less polished. I saw it during the Summer, and I feel like some of its emotional impact has faded over time, but I will still remember it.

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  5. Im really glad you mentioned the score. It was incredible. I have it separately. Such a clever structure. I do like war films. Apocalypse Now, Bridge on the River Kwai, Stalag 17, Paths of Glory, Full Metal Jacket and Das Boot are definitely included. It's always special though when a director is so talented he can make you like a film in a genre you don't normally like. Great review.

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    1. Thanks!

      PS. Full Metal Jacket is probably my favourite war movie.

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  6. So glad you liked this! It's the only movie I saw this year twice in cinemas. I actually found it to be tremendously moving, especially when Kenneth Branagh says "home' and we see all those civilians bravely entering the war zone to rescue the soldiers.

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    1. I know right, that scene was so moving. I was like, I don't know these guys why should I care and I was almost crying.

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