Disclaimer: This movie is rated PG-13. Reviewing the parent's guide online is recommended before watching, as there are numerous themes of violence throughout the film.

Christopher Nolan, throughout his career, has utilized his cinematography and mise-en-scène (on-screen factors such as lighting, composition and all you can see on screen) to tell a story that could otherwise not be felt as deeply without these tools. The film Dunkirk (2017) is a beautiful illustration of these utilities. The movie is a historical fiction following the events of the battle of Dunkirk during World War II. The battle of Dunkirk takes place in 1940 on the shores of Dunkirk, France. Both British and French soldiers trapped on the edge of France facing England. Surrounded by the enemy on land, both parties fight to escape and make it back to the homeland. The movie follows three groups of people, the ones on land, the ones in the air, and those at sea. Opening the movie, papers fall down from the sky slowly surrounding the soldiers like a quiet whisper of impending doom.This scene paints this surrealness of the world surrounding the war and draws the viewer into the year of 1940, the year the battle of Dunkirk began. On land, the soldiers fight against the tides, harsh weather, and enemy attacks to make it back to England. In the air, three pilots fly to Dunkirk to provide cover for the soldiers, on land, attempting to make their escape. Preparing for the worst, England had withheld sending more ships to save the soldiers stuck in France. Receiving a call from across the nation, civilians from the coast of England, set out on their leisure boats to one by one rescue the soldiers. As the movie intensifies while following main characters such as the soldier, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) or the fighter pilot, Farrier (Tom Hardy) the roles of each individual start to align together and interconnect with each other. 

Dunkirk seems to be solely about war, but underneath the surface of it all is a message whispering to the public in both real life and the film. Due to Christopher Nolan’s ingenious framing of the plotline, we get to feel the feelings of each story being told until it all comes together to make you realize something, something big. Every single story being told, every single role being played, and every single little person adds to the equation and contributes to the bigger picture. We can take a lot from this as Christians. In 1 Corinthians 12:12-14 the Bible states  “Just as a body, though one, has many parts, but all its many parts form one body, so it is with Christ…the body is not made up of one part but of many.” Whether it be Evangelism, or ministering to others, we, with our own gifts given to us by God, contribute to the body of Christ. Every single person, no matter big or small, can contribute to the Kingdom of Heaven. In Dunkirk men in their tiny boats are shamed for trying to save hundreds of thousands of men. Soldiers run, suffer and make haste to save just one life, one wounded individual. Ephesians 4:11-13 takes a look at the importance of the roles that each of us play in the saving of others and the Kingdom of Heaven. 

In Nolan’s use of cinematography, the viewer almost intensely feels the orderliness and panic of the surroundings of the characters.  It is in the silence and order of the film, contrasted by the chaos that follows these peaceful scenes, that one starts to understand the abruptness of death and the tragedies following the lives of those fighting in World War II. The shots used, the editor’s dedication, and the sincerity of the actors brought this inspiring story from death to life. The film so closely draws you in, it makes you feel every bit of emotion that one could feel when watching history take place. 

“We shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches. We shall fight on the landing grounds. We shall fight in the fields and in the streets. We shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender.”