In the middle of poodled summer blockbuster movies of 2017, Dunkirk manages to attract public and critics attentions despite of its premise for not being mainstream and blockbuster-ish enough. Directed by one of the greatest visual auteurs of all time, a Kubrick-wannabe director, Christopher Nolan, tells a story of Operation Dynamo from three different perspectives: land, sea and air.
The story is chaptered into three sections, with each section has its own timeframe. It begins from a perspective of two escaping soldiers ambushed by the Germans, trying to get into the evacuation ships of the Royal Navy (one week timeframe); followed by the story of civilians sailing to get into the warzone to save the refugees and soldiers with boats and yachts (one day timeframe); and three Spitfire pilots aiming to keep both save from the air (one hour timeframe). At the climax, these three different stories intersect and merge into one singular storyline.
Shot in 70mm film, Dunkirk is truly a cinematic masterpiece in terms of grandeur visual landscapes, outstanding plot, and technical achievements. Personally for me, it is really about the visual storytelling experience that somehow works well in this movie. The vast, calm-looking blue sky reflects the solitude of the three fighter pilots waiting to meet their demise; the close-up frames of the soldiers project a claustrophobic atmosphere as if we’re stuck in a mutual terror with them; hell, even the vast open beaches look frightening as if somebody would shoot you in any directions like a sitting duck without nobody’s noticing. Adding these visual elements with Hans Zimmer’s chilling score, it just feels... perfectly tense and realistic. Nolan and Zimmer, a great pairs just like my rice and my Kung Pao chicken blended together.
Beside its masterful visuals, my praises also goes to the cast and crew. Fionn Whitehead manages to capture the naiveness and innocence of Tommy, a young British private whose only goal is to get out from the warzone alive; Cillian Murphy, whose PTSD role echoes the horror of war, and Tom Hardy’s epic facial expression is so... Tom Hardy-ish (seriously, this is the second time the dude’s working on a Nolan film with his nose and mouth completely covered by something and he can still be f’in awesome...!). Other supporting casts, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles and the guy from The Killing of a Sacred Deer movie; they’re just fine.
On the sidenote, I admire Nolan’s juxtaposing of polar opposite characters. A depressed Shivering Soldier (yeah, you read it right. That’s the name Cillian Murphy get credited as) signifies a man with no hope, lost and fearful. As a victim of war, he surely knows what war caused him, what he had lost, what he sacrificed; he does not care with anything and just trying to get home. The same dreadful feelings are also resonated by each escapee (Tommy, Alex and the other soldiers); they feel death’s getting closer every corner. Exposed by the horror of war on daily basis, the saviours they always hoped for perhaps are the least that comes to their minds: the fighter pilots and civillians. Cynism and skeptical views on these so-called “coward” pilots are spread among soldiers due to the absence of the Air Force, and noone ever thinks that small civillian boats could “beat” military ships, such as the Destroyers.
These desperate groups of men hope on something bigger, something that could reverse the situation. They don’t want to lose. They want to win. That’s why in the middle of despairation, they are delusionising to be helped by fighter pilots, supported by Destroyers. They do not realise that they undersetimate the capability of their saviors to save them. They do not realise that retreating is the same as winning; saving lives of many counts as victory, just like what Churchill fiercely campaigns on the diplomatic table. By the end, the solicitudes of the soldiers being labelled as coward/failure are suddenly disminished; becomes nothing to be worried about as public cheers them with warm greetings.
The dynamic of emotions and thoughts in this movie really speak out loud and clear; and that’s what making this newest flick from Nolan feels so fresh, touching and relatable for general audiences.
5 out of 5 stars. And I want to get my Kung Pao chicken soon.
The story is chaptered into three sections, with each section has its own timeframe. It begins from a perspective of two escaping soldiers ambushed by the Germans, trying to get into the evacuation ships of the Royal Navy (one week timeframe); followed by the story of civilians sailing to get into the warzone to save the refugees and soldiers with boats and yachts (one day timeframe); and three Spitfire pilots aiming to keep both save from the air (one hour timeframe). At the climax, these three different stories intersect and merge into one singular storyline.
Shot in 70mm film, Dunkirk is truly a cinematic masterpiece in terms of grandeur visual landscapes, outstanding plot, and technical achievements. Personally for me, it is really about the visual storytelling experience that somehow works well in this movie. The vast, calm-looking blue sky reflects the solitude of the three fighter pilots waiting to meet their demise; the close-up frames of the soldiers project a claustrophobic atmosphere as if we’re stuck in a mutual terror with them; hell, even the vast open beaches look frightening as if somebody would shoot you in any directions like a sitting duck without nobody’s noticing. Adding these visual elements with Hans Zimmer’s chilling score, it just feels... perfectly tense and realistic. Nolan and Zimmer, a great pairs just like my rice and my Kung Pao chicken blended together.
Beside its masterful visuals, my praises also goes to the cast and crew. Fionn Whitehead manages to capture the naiveness and innocence of Tommy, a young British private whose only goal is to get out from the warzone alive; Cillian Murphy, whose PTSD role echoes the horror of war, and Tom Hardy’s epic facial expression is so... Tom Hardy-ish (seriously, this is the second time the dude’s working on a Nolan film with his nose and mouth completely covered by something and he can still be f’in awesome...!). Other supporting casts, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles and the guy from The Killing of a Sacred Deer movie; they’re just fine.
On the sidenote, I admire Nolan’s juxtaposing of polar opposite characters. A depressed Shivering Soldier (yeah, you read it right. That’s the name Cillian Murphy get credited as) signifies a man with no hope, lost and fearful. As a victim of war, he surely knows what war caused him, what he had lost, what he sacrificed; he does not care with anything and just trying to get home. The same dreadful feelings are also resonated by each escapee (Tommy, Alex and the other soldiers); they feel death’s getting closer every corner. Exposed by the horror of war on daily basis, the saviours they always hoped for perhaps are the least that comes to their minds: the fighter pilots and civillians. Cynism and skeptical views on these so-called “coward” pilots are spread among soldiers due to the absence of the Air Force, and noone ever thinks that small civillian boats could “beat” military ships, such as the Destroyers.
These desperate groups of men hope on something bigger, something that could reverse the situation. They don’t want to lose. They want to win. That’s why in the middle of despairation, they are delusionising to be helped by fighter pilots, supported by Destroyers. They do not realise that they undersetimate the capability of their saviors to save them. They do not realise that retreating is the same as winning; saving lives of many counts as victory, just like what Churchill fiercely campaigns on the diplomatic table. By the end, the solicitudes of the soldiers being labelled as coward/failure are suddenly disminished; becomes nothing to be worried about as public cheers them with warm greetings.
The dynamic of emotions and thoughts in this movie really speak out loud and clear; and that’s what making this newest flick from Nolan feels so fresh, touching and relatable for general audiences.
5 out of 5 stars. And I want to get my Kung Pao chicken soon.
![](http://pinterest.com/pin/create/button/?url=http://groovygrinn.blogspot.com/2018/01/review-dunkirk-2017.html&media=https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhnhGGx0ouoaEPwbVGcBhbn7hQRG_pmX2ZQyZ501M_7SKUgTkH7wk00m1C9w9NbriGWEDKyaFlgxVfMxmacjP6T4gtx-ERdkkCH2eQTB3tu5F7X4wwHBiD-h1zIIv5GlBXQAm5B1P70-cI/s72-c/Dunkirk.jpg&description=  "Nolan is back. And he’s gonna twist your mind. Again." In the middle of poodled summer blockbuster movies of 2017, Dunkir...){kind=link}
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