Dunkirk
Christopher Nolan continues on his journey to become this generations defining film director with his war epic Dunkirk. For those unfamiliar Dunkirk tells the tale of the Battle Of Dunkirk which saw almost 400,000 allied soldiers surrounded by Nazi forces on a beach in North Western France.
Whilst this is a war epic it unconventionally doesn't focus on direct head to head combat, instead the German infantry are never seen and only ever referred to as ‘The Enemy’. This decision allows for Dunkirk to be a timeless film which is primarily about the terror of war felt by the individual soldiers.
Nolan has chosen to implement a storytelling technique he first utilised in Interstellar, which is an important piece of knowledge to have heading into the film. The story unfolds from three perspectives - land, sea, and air - with each unfolding at a different rate - one week, one day, and one hour, respectively.
Implementing this technique can create a sense of confusion as you question whether the moments you’re witnessing unfold are new or simply from a new perspective. The trio of timelines does however add to the sense of urgency and anxiety as the threads slowly begin to interweave.
Dunkirk overall is 104 minutes of sensory and emotional overload as you take in both the breathtaking visuals whilst also being bombarded by the thunderous sound design and musical score by Hans Zimmer.
★★★★
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Also published on Alt Media