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Dunkirk (2017) Reviewed by Jay

United States, 21 July 2017

 

Jay´s Review

Any time Christopher Nolan makes a movie, we pay attention. He doesn't stick to one genre and is fearless in his choices. This time he picked one of the most thrilling stories to ever come out of a war, but is little-known in much of the world. He wants to fix that. And I concur! By the way, Nolan tried to cast actors who were the same age as the soldiers in that campaign. He was shocked to see that they were just boys!

 

In World War II, Belgian, French, British and Canadian soldiers were trapped by German forces in a little French town called Dunkirk, situated on the English Channel. The Germans were advancing and 400,000 soldiers were sitting ducks. If you've ever seen the classic wartime drama "Mrs. Miniver" you know what happens next: the civilian English fishing fleet came to the rescue! Just typing this gives me goosebumps!

 

Here is part of Nolan's excellent cast:

 

  • * Fionn Whitehead (in his first movie) is Tommy, the young soldier who becomes the eyes and ears for us in the audience.
  • * Aneurin Barnard ("A Perfect Plan") Gibson pairs up with Tommy in a moment of desperation.
  • * Damien Bonnard ("Staying Vertical") is a French soldier who is mistaken for the enemy because he doesn't speak English.
  • * Harry Styles ("One Direction") Alex is a judgmental but resourceful soldier, always keeping an eye out for the best opportunity to survive.
  • * Mark Rylance ("Bridge of Spies") Mr. Dawson is the person we most admire. He sets out  with his two sons in his modest boat, on a perilous mission he is determined to complete.
  • * Tom Glynn-Carney ("The Last Post") and Barry Keoghan ("Trespass Against Us") are Mr. Dawson's sons, Peter and George.
  • * Tom Hardy ("Mad Max: Fury Road") Spitfire pilot Farrier; is practically a one-man RAF.
  • * Cillian Murphy ("Free Fire") This soldier is shivering from the cold, from fear or from something else entirely. Mr. Dawson understands.
  • * Kenneth Branagh ("Wallander") Commander Bolton is responsible for the lives of his Royal Navy men; he has never felt so helpless. He had thought they could "make terms."
  • * James D'Arcy ("Broadchurch") Colonel Winnant will do whatever it takes, unless it's impossible.
The scope of this epic drama is breathtaking. Nolan was reluctant to use Computer Generated Imaging, but the budget could only stretch so far... 400,000 soldiers!
 
The PG-13 rating means there will be some profanity (it is wartime in the armed forces... c'mon!), so expect some of that (but you probably won't be able to make it out), a LOT of gunfire, some blowie uppie stuff and some hair-raising situations at sea. There are no grisly wounds, we see blood, but it's on bandages. Even in the sky, the dogfights over land and sea are fairly bloodless. Mostly expect chaos; the chaos of fear, the chaos of desperation, the chaos of war. 
 
It's high time you learned this story!
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