Dunkirk (2017)

Directed by: Christopher Nolan

Written by: Christopher Nolan

Starring: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Hardy, Aneurin Barnard, Harry Styles, & Kenneth Branagh




This film was meant for 70mm IMAX cameras.

This film gives a glimpse into the Battle of Dunkirk from land, sea, and air.  Each of these settings has its own story to tell on how these men survived the horrors of being surrounded by the German during World War II.

Film technical wise, it was amazing.  The colors and lack of CGI, but rather physical explosions and cardboard cutouts to enhance the amount of men were nostalgic to the art of filmmaking.  Plus, giving an excerpt into the stories of these men from various angles created an in-depth look at WWII.

But...

Due to the focus and determination to make the film a masterpiece aesthetically, "Dunkirk," in the end, lacked emotion without a main character to follow.  Instead the film, as mentioned above, is spread out amongst three settings: the sea, the land, and the air.  As an audience member, you get to see the actors combat their mortality through these settings, but without much of backstory nor a good amount of dialogue, you don't really get a sense of who these men are.  They are just men fighting a war and trying to survive.

Even though the characters have no emotional connection to the audience, the actors still show amazing performances.  The most surprising is Harry Styles, who I thought was only going to have one line, but actually was in a good chunk of the film.  He definitely earned his part with showing the appropriate expressions and acting skills to enhance the severity of the Battle of Dunkirk.

All in all, 4 popcorns.

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