Movie Review -- Dunkirk

   A blockbuster WWII movie whose story has nothing to do with the USA? A Christopher Nolan movie that isn't two and a half hours long? A WWII movie about the Allies losing a battle? Well, colour me interested. This is Dunkirk, a war film about the miraculous evacuation of British and French troops across the English Channel during the late stages of the disastrous Battle of France.

   One thing to know about Dunkirk is that it tells three different (fictional) stories with differing durations which don't always take place at the same time. The first, The Mole, follows Tommy, a British trooper trying to find a way off the beach. The second, The Sea, is about civilian yachtsmen who sail out to assist in the evacuation. And the third story concerns Spitfire pilots flying across the channel to provide air cover for the soldiers on the beach. In typical Nolan fashion, time is structurally warped from scene to scene to create a story that is still cohesive. Only at the film's climax do the three stories converge.

   Comparable to war movies like Black Hawk Down (2001), Dunkirk is one of those war films whose primary focus is on the current moment, eschewing the philosophical themes typically found throughout Nolan's filmography. There's not much backstory – or even much dialogue at all in some scenes – and the story's emotional weight is carried by what's not said, like frightened soldiers turning their heads to the sky or a shell-shocked trooper crouched alone atop a capsized vessel. This means that the action is put on the forefront, making Dunkirk a very intense, though not remarkably violent, movie.

   The tradeoff to this focus on spectacle is that less emphasis is placed on characterization. The characters aren't uninteresting, but you will struggle to remember their names. There's even a couple characters I had trouble telling apart! The acting is pretty good throughout, though I'd say the best performances belong to Mark Rylance as Mr. Dawson the mariner and Cillian Murphy as the Shivering Soldier.

   As mentioned earlier, Dunkirk's visuals take centre stage. That suits this movie just fine, especially when you've got a director shooting in IMAX and 70mm film, with breathtaking shots, exquisitely detailed sets, props, and costumes, and extensive use of practical effects. In addition to being a sight to behold, Dunkirk is also an audio marvel. The sound design gives each weight to each bullet fired and each rumbling explosion. The score by Hans Zimmer also goes a long way to adding to the film's tension, just as with 2008's The Dark Knight.

   And that's Dunkirk, a gripping war film with stellar production value and the outstanding directing that Christopher Nolan is known for. Is it one of the best war films ever made as some critics are suggesting? It's tough to say since there are so many different types of war movies. I'd say that at least for the combat-action subgenre of war films this is one of the best in quite a long time. So you oughtta watch it.

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