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[title]Swapping the imagined future for an event that shaped our world during the Second World War, Christopher Nolan’s first film after ‘Interstellar’ is inspired by the events that unfolded over nine horrific days.
But while the subject matter may seem entirely different, Nolan’s writing yet again explores the human spirit with a thrilling and visceral story that will enthral film lovers.
Survival is victory
In May 1940, when 400,000 Allied troops were surrounded on the French coast by the German army, the rescue mission to get them off the beaches at Dunkirk proved to be one of the most exceptional human endeavours of the twentieth century. The large naval vessels could not enter the shallow waters of Dunkirk and soon the armed forces had drafted the aid of civilians to help with Operation Dynamo. If the mission was going to be anywhere near effective, the armed forces had to call upon lifeboat crews from as far away as Poole, and boat-owning civilians to sail for Dunkirk, too.
First-class cast
In Christopher Nolan’s film, an ensemble cast including Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles, James D’Arcy and Fionn Whitehead tells the stories intertwined in this edge-of-your-seat thriller. The soldiers waiting to be rescued and the pilots flying above them attempting to defend the rescue mission from enemy air bombardment. The soldiers trying to hold off the German forces closing in on the town of Dunkirk and the troops confronted with death all around them while the men and women on the rescue ships were treating the wounded. The officers trying to manage a fast-unfolding disaster and the men who owned the boats and yachts who sailed towards the fighting to bring soldiers home.
Dunkirk was only six months into the war and a long way from victory. Nolan’s account will keep you on edge until the very last moment.
Action to the last
Filmed entirely on IMAX and 65mm, ‘Dunkirk’ immerses you in the moment. Hoyte Van Hoytema’s cinematography expresses the scale and intensity of the drama as it unfolds. He also worked with Nolan on ‘Inception’, while fellow Nolan collaborator Hans Zimmer composed the score. In fact, the soundtrack for the film draws on recorded sound as much as it does on Zimmer’s music: human voices and cries, the jagged mechanical soundscape of battle, the roar of nature as the rescue drives on against the harshest of conditions.
A breathless cinematic experience
‘Dunkirk’ was filmed on location in France, Holland, the UK and Los Angeles. Opening on July 21, shown in regular, 70mm and IMAX formats.
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