Is Dunkirk the Best Film of the Year so Far? | ExpatWoman.com
 

Is Dunkirk the Best Film of the Year so Far?

We give you an honest review of Dunkirk, one of the most anticipated films of the year.

Posted on

30 July 2017

Last updated on 31 March 2019
Is Dunkirk the Best Film of the Year so Far?

Possibly one of the most awaited movies of the year, Dunkirk hit the cinemas last weekend, and obviously, we were first to see it. 

Be it Christopher Nolan's direction, the Harry Styles factor, or even the fact that Hans Zimmer did the soundtrack, audiences don't need a reason to watch this film - it is on everyone's movie bucket list as far as we know. 

Following its stellar opening at box offices worldwide, Dunkirk was welcomed by packed cinema houses right here in Dubai.

Based on a true story about the mass eviction of over 300,000 soldiers from the beach at Dunkirk in 1940, this movie is a tale of war, loss, compassion and friendship. 

 

The story

Dunkirk is based on true events, largely considered as one of the biggest mass evacuations ever carried out in history. Nolan tells the story of Allied soldiers from England, France and Belgium braving German fighters at the coast of France in a town called Dunkirk (or Dunkerque) towards the beginning of World War 2 in May 1940.

Although Nolan claims that this is not a story, rather an 'account' of war; for the sake of the audience, the film has a few main protagonists - notably Harry Styles as an English soldier, Mark Rylance as a civilian and Tom Hardy as a fighter pilot. Without giving out too many plot details, the story describes the steps taken by the Navy, Army, Government and ultimately the civilians in bringing home the soldiers who were stranded across the English Channel.

Nolan states, "This is an essential moment in the history of the Second World War. If this evacuation had not been a success, Great Britain would have been obliged to capitulate. And the whole world would have been lost or would have known a different fate: the Germans would undoubtedly have conquered Europe, the US would not have returned to war. It is a true point of rupture in war and in the history of the world. A decisive moment. And the success of the evacuation allowed Churchill to impose the idea of a moral victory, which allowed him to galvanize his troops like civilians and to impose a spirit of resistance while the logic of this sequence should have been that of surrender. Militarily it is a defeat; on the human plane it is a colossal victory."

The cinematography

We watched Dunkirk at an IMAX cinema, not only because the IMAX screens are bigger and the overall experience is fantastic, but because Nolan and his team used special IMAX and 65mm cameras to shoot the film. Dunkirk is a visual treat, handled enigmatically by Hoyte van Hoytema, a cinematographer par excellence.

Every scene in the film will keep you at the edge of your seat, making the 1-hour 46-minute film a pleasure to watch. If you've watched any of Nolan's films before, you know that he likes playing with timelines, so expect no less with Dunkirk. Once your mind is tuned to this chaotic but edgy style, it is easy to focus on the finer nuances of the film like the vastness of the coast, the dilapidated boats, the moving camera that perfectly captures the turmoil at sea (frequent sea-sickness victims beware - it can get quite choppy in some parts!).

The music

Hans Zimmer has set the precedent for breathtaking movie soundtracks previously, with Inception, Dark Knight and Pirates of the Carribean, and Dunkirk doesn't disappoint.

What's interesting for music enthusiasts or even anyone who just enjoys a good tune, is the use of 'The Shepard Tone', something both Zimmer and Nolan enjoy experimenting with. It is a type of sound (formed by superimposing pitches and modulating tones) that seems never-ending and creates an everlasting rise in pitch - think Super Mario running up the stairs - setting an atmosphere of impending drama and potential plot twists.

The verdict

Although surrounded by controversy from the very start, Dunkirk still manages to capture its audience in a way every Christopher Nolan film does. By taking out the 'hero' element from the plot, Dunkirk recounts a realistic narrative - in fact, some veterans from the Dunkirk battle actually watched the film at its premiere in London and gave it a seal of approval for its realistic portrait of the war. 

Nolan made a clever move by hiring young, unknown actors for the film (except for Harry Styles - who still managed to blend in effortlessly, unlike Ed Sheeran in Game of Thrones), and shifted the focus away from the star power of actors like Tom Hardy. He did this deliberately, after realising how underprepared and inexperienced the actual soldiers were.
 
Personally, we would've liked to see a prologue as the film launches into the war right from the first scene, and audiences who're not familiar with the event might feel a sense of disorientation.

However, once you've managed to grip the plot, and more importantly, the chronological nonlinearity, it quickly grows on to you and before you know it, we're already well into the closing credits. 

Dunkirk is now playing at cinemas across the country, and we highly recommend you watch it on an IMAX screen. 

 
 

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