Dunkirk

This is the story of largest sea evacuation of the 20th Century. It was the largest in history until September 11, 2001. Most of the time when a feature film is released in the IMAX, its popularity in that format won't differ much from other formats during its initial run in theatres. Director/Writer/Producer Christopher Nolan in the case of "Dunkirk" however was able to market his film so well that IMAX 70mm is outselling other formats showing within the same multi-auditorium theaters. As for myself, the movie is very impressive in IMAX 70mm and I respect Nolan's love for shooting and exhibiting his works on film. This is a show that should not be missed but as with "Interstellar" unfortunately, the story is somewhat outshined by the other cinematic elements that make "Dunkirk" special such as its cinematography, design and musical score. The story of this film is noteworthy because of how it is organized but it is not traditional Hollywood storytelling and that may surprise or confuse some moviegoers. With the film's high level of realism and historical accuracy, there are a few unfortunate consequences that prevented me from truly marveling in this show.

"Dunkirk" is unique in the war film genre. The battle of Dunkirk wasn't really a victory for the Allies and happened in 1940 before the US entered World War II. What makes this story inspirational was that the evacuation/retreat at Dunkirk could have been a disaster. One could make a historical comparison with George Washington's nighttime crossing of his Continental Army to Manhattan after the Battle of Long Island during the Revolutionary War. Both examples prove the benefits of a strategic retreat. As with "Inception", Nolan conceived this movie long before its production. Unlike some directors, he didn't wait for better technology to bring his movie to life. He postponed making "Dunkirk" until he felt he had the necessary experience to do the story the justice it deserved. Special attention was given in the making of "Dunkirk" to the historical accuracy, cinematography and sense of realism. This was due to Nolan telling the story with little dialogue and little to no back-stories for the characters. While that does wonders for realism, a quality which I desire in historical epics, there are consequences. It is hard for us to relate to the characters on screen if they don't speak very much or if we don't know their origins. Despite the fact that the story unfortunately took a back seat to other elements, it is organized in a very unique way. We have all seen non-linear films before and Christopher Nolan's "The Prestige" is a wonderful example. Both films are non-linear and divided into three parts but the three plotlines of "Dunkirk" are intercut as if the movie is linear despite the fact the plotlines cover different lengths of time. The scenes on the beach take place over the course of a week, the story of the Moonstone occurs in one day and the air battle takes place over the course of just one hour. If the film had been truly linear, both the sea and air plotlines would have been shown only during the climax. The way the plot was organized made the story a little difficult to follow as I kept mistaking Alex for Gibson. However, I think one reason "Dunkirk" is such a success is because of its suspense and the intercutting creates this feeling. In his preparation, Nolan mostly studied films outside the war genre such as "Speed" and "Unstoppable" to learn how to replicate the anxiety and suspense his story needed (I'm glad I'm not the only one in the world that knew the later film was special). The ending of the movie is pretty resolving despite the fact that Germany still holds the upper hand. Back in 1940, Hitler could have undertaken a coordinated attack on the stranded soldiers using tanks but historians still debate as to why he relied solely on his air force. The Halt Order, as it is known, allowed for the Allies to prepare to defend the beach as the evacuation took place. One theory was that Hitler allowed the evacuation to happen so as to open the door for a truce with Britain but this supposition has been mostly discredited. Hitler did however believe that British troops were gone for good from continental Europe but history would tell a different outcome. While Churchill was grateful that so many troops had been rescued, he knew and wanted to convey to the country that such a miracle would not win the war. The very end of "Dunkirk" alludes to this.

Most who follow Christopher Nolan's work know that he loves to cast actors he has worked with before. I was thinking this would be my first film of his without Michael Caine but he does have a small audio cameo so the tradition continues. This is Cillian Murphy's fifth film with Nolan and Tom Hardy's third. Similar to "Star Wars: A New Hope" and "Harry Potter", unknown actors were supported by A-list actors in "Dunkirk". This was a decision was made for the sake of the story in order to replicate the inexperience and youth of the actual soldiers trapped on that beach. Harry Styles however is hardly unknown being a member of One Direction. I remember James D'Arcy from TV and also from "Hitchcock". I was happy to have Oscar-winner Mark Rylance in "Dunkirk". Also typical of this filmmaker is the use of IMAX cameras and exhibition of the final product in said format. IMAX cameras were even attached to planes and flown in the air. When Steven Spielberg and Ron Howard advised Nolan that the best way to shoot on ships was to go handheld, it led to the use of the handheld IMAX cameras for the first time on a feature film. This contributed to the documentary-style of the whole show. Nolan also favors practical effects. I thought the planes crashing in the ocean employed at least some CGI but apparently, it is all accomplished practically with large radio-controlled planes. The best decision Nolan made in my opinion in the creation of "Dunkirk" was to film on location. He even used boats from in the real evacuation of 1940. From the first trailer, I took note of the ticking in Hans Zimmer's musical score. Nolan's own pocket watch was recorded and then synthesized for Zimmer to use. In addition to that, Zimmer made special use of an effect called the "Shepard Tone" for this movie (you should Google that). This is yet another quality that can be seen in the past works of both Zimmer and Nolan.

In addition to his high salary, Christopher Nolan will receive 20% of the box office earnings. This ties Peter Jackson's record deal for making "King Kong". This is my first Nolan film not in the comic book or sci-fi genre and while I was mesmerized by what I was seeing on the IMAX screen via the 70mm film, I wasn't affected emotionally as I was hoping to be. The focus of the film is the design, musical score, realism, cinematography and historical accuracy. Speaking of those elements, "Dunkirk" received Oscar nominations for Best Cinematography, Director, Musical Score, Production Design and Best Picture. I figured it would win in the Sound Editing catagory but it also won Best Sound Mixing too. I also predicted that the film would win for its editing and I was right. I was hoping that Nolan would finally win an Oscar for his directing but I hope he gets another chance in the future. The story was also given a lot of intention but I was hoping to feel something more for the soldiers and civilians involved in this story. I think I was a victim of the overrated reaction that most people had after seeing "Dunkirk" but having said that, I think it was still worth the money to see "Dunkirk" as Nolan intended.

3.5 Stars out of 5