Dunkirk
Overview
Dunkirk is a 2017 war film written, directed, and co-produced by Christopher Nolan, based on the true story of the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II. The film is told from three perspectives: land, sea, and air, each with a different timeline. The land story takes place over one week, following a young British soldier, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), as he tries to escape from the beach at Dunkirk. The sea story takes place over one day, following a civilian boat owner, Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance), as he sails his pleasure boat to Dunkirk to help evacuate the soldiers. The air story takes place over one hour, following a Royal Air Force pilot, Farrier (Tom Hardy), as he engages German planes in dogfights over the channel. The film has very little dialogue and no character development in the traditional sense. The soldiers are not given names or backstories. They are just faces in the crowd, ordinary men trying to survive. The film is a pure cinematic experience, relying on visuals, sound, and editing to create tension and emotion. The beach scenes are vast and claustrophobic at the same time, with thousands of soldiers waiting in long lines for rescue, while German planes fly overhead and bombs explode. The sea scenes are terrifying, with boats sinking and soldiers drowning. The air scenes are intense, with Farrier alone in his cockpit, his fuel gauge broken, trying to protect the boats below. The film ends with the evacuation complete. Over 300,000 soldiers have been rescued, far more than the 45,000 that were expected. The soldiers expect to be greeted with shame, but instead they are welcomed as heroes. The film ends with Churchill's famous "We shall fight on the beaches" speech, read by a young soldier. Dunkirk was a critical and commercial success, earning over $527 million worldwide. It was nominated for eight Academy Awards, winning three for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Film Editing. The film is a masterpiece of tension and a unique approach to the war film genre.
