There are genres of movies I am not a big fan of (horror, spoof and really raunchy comedies for example), but one I have mixed feelings for are war films. While I liked reading about the history of past wars in school it is another thing for me to watch it on the big screen. That being said when I watched Dunkirk before the Oscars that year I immediately got the hype behind this 2017 film. As always spoilers will be ahead. I DO NOT OWN THE PICTURE.
During the Battle of France in 1940, thousands of Allied soldiers are hiding out in the town of Dunkirk. One of the soldiers, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) goes to the beach where he sees soldiers attempting to board a ship for evacuation as German planes constantly dive bomb the soldiers. Along with two other soldiers, Gibson (Aneurin Barnard) and Alex (Harry Styles) the three young men try and find a way to survive the attacks and get away from Dunkirk. At the same time the Royal Navy ask civilians to borrow their ships so they may rescue the soldiers. Civilian sailor Dawson (Mark Rylance), his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and friend George (Barry Keoghan) sail their ship, the Moonstone, to Dunkirk rather than have the Navy take it. On their way they pick up a soldier (Cillian Murphy) on a wrecked ship where he was the only survivor. When the soldier realizes where his rescuers are going, he demands they turn back; terrified about what happened to him. This would later prove to be costly. Meanwhile, while the two stories are taking place, three Spitfires are heading for Dunkirk but are attacked in a dog fight. When the leader perishes, pilot Farrier (Tom Hardy) takes command, despite a shattered fuel gauge, with the other pilot Collins (Jack Lowden) helping him. Keep an eye out for James d’Arcy as Colonel Winnant and Kenneth Branagh as Colonel Bolton.
I can say this with absolute certainty: Dunkirk is one of the most beautiful films I have ever seen. The way the movie was shot is absolutely stunning; from the beach, boats, planes to when the attacks happened. I have watched my fair share of Christopher Nolan films, yes it is mostly the Dark Knight trilogy, but I think this just might be his best film to date; I think he wanted to make the film as accurate as he possibly could. I believe this is why he cast so many young (and somewhat unknown) men along with bigger names like Hardy, Branagh and Murphy. The background music and sound was incredible; I had the movie on a mildly low volume most of the time and I could still hear the planes shooting or boats exploding. The characters, while fictional or a combination of actual soldiers, are fascinating to watch. Not much is known about them, but it doesn’t matter because the story is more important. I was actually surprised by how many young people came to see Dunkirk when it was in theaters; I’m sure some of the girls came because of Harry Styles but left learning a bit more about what happened in Dunkirk. Critics and audiences absolutely loved the film praising everything about it. The film won three Academy Awards for its sound editing, sound mixing and film editing while nominated for five others including cinematography, director and picture. I love the movie, but I have to make a tiny note for those that haven’t watch the film: put on the closed caption. It is very hard to hear the guys talking unless they are shouting, and then about five minutes later you have to turn the volume down because of shooting, exploding or alarms. Other than that Dunkirk is an absolute must-watch.
Films or Television Worth Watching 