Dunkirk

Tony Ling
19th Jul 2017

"Wars are not won by evacuations"

Dunkirk is a sublime take on ambitious filmmaking. Directed and written by Christopher Nolan, the acclaimed director behind the Dark Knight trilogy and Inception, the film boldly holds no quarter in providing an authentic, cinematic manifesto on the experiences of war. Yet, Dunkirk poses a looming question – Can a sheer feast for the senses override the necessity for compelling characters in cinematic storytelling?

Dunkirk surrounds the real historical events of the British Expeditionary Forces in their retreat from France at the outbreak of World War II. The Germans have overwhelmingly routed the British and French armies down to the beaches of Dunkirk and are converging on the 400, 000 soldiers waiting to be ferried off the beach in retreat. What follows is a three-fold leapfrog narrative of characters in land, sea and air as they all do their part in one of the most infamous military disasters in World War II.

A huge ensemble cast is contained in this movie. You get Kenneth Branagh commanding the British forces, One Direction's Harry Styles as an army private trying to escape Dunkirk, and Tom Hardy playing one of the pilots trying to do what he can to keep the skies clear of the Luftwaffe. The lead actor is newcomer Fionn Whitehead, playing the protagonist of the movie as another soldier on the ground. Dialogue is scarce for all these characters. Heck, I don't think the male lead said a word until forty-five minutes in. Instead, Nolan writes the film to be more in the experience, and what an experience this is.  

Nolan commands an incredible exercise of spectacle. Everything from explosions, boats, troops, down to the intense aerial dogfights between Spitfires and Messerschmitts, are made with real practical effects, props, vehicles, and over 6000 extras.  All for the love of movie magic. This brought about an unparalleled amount of authenticity to the viewing experience where some scenes just make your jaw drop in awe and get you on the edge of your seat.   

The audio was a fascinating beast. Nolan favourite Hans Zimmer returns with a soundtrack that is built on suspense and build-up. Long, unnerving and monotonous use of auxiliary percussion accompanied by the lumbering cascades of brass and chilling strings takes every scene's thrill and tension up to eleven. Zimmers' use of synth finds a versatile home here providing emotional ambience to some of the key climatic moments of the movie as well as providing maddening terror in others. I'm not sure whether to commend or shame the audio department for the colossal effects that sound brought to the table. Moments of eerie silence are shattered by point blank range rifle and machine gun fire that is deafeningly loud. Not to mention the recording detail in all of the artillery shells, torpedoes, explosions, and the horrifying howl of a German Stuka bomber diving into its target.

Nolan certainly has the conviction in wanting to do justice to history. Real-life reconstruction of World War II relics not withstanding, Dunkirk is a meditation on the experience and locales of the historical event more than adding any touts of significant character-driven storytelling. You don't get to know any of your characters that well. They don't present any characterisation like, for example, what their wives are like back home or what's worth fighting for. Nolan wants you in on the moments that make up for the horrific exercise of war. And he executes them with utter clarity. Few scenes felt unnecessary in the editing, resulting in a remarkably short film for Nolan standards at only 106 minutes running time.   Shots were taken from an abundant range of focal lengths and angles of any one particular scene seeking to bring up the scale of this catastrophe in spades. The cinematography is nigh on immaculate that immerses you and then some.

For better or worse, Dunkirk serves a visceral experience of war rather than a character-driven tale of war. Nolan's vision came as a courageous tribute to visual prowess and audio fidelity that all seeks to achieve one thing: Making you relive the warfare event of a real-life military disaster. If you really wanted to have characters you can care about or a stereotypical Nolan story filled with emotion and shock, you definitely won't find it here. What you will get is a colossal movie that gives you a simplistic yet realistic depiction of war. A brave, unique and innovative piece of cinema.

Dunkirk opens in Australian cinemas on Thursday July 20th.