dunkirk delivers: war is hell
Unless you've seen the wonderful Mrs. Miniver with the imcomprable Greer Garson, those of us in the US may never have really heard of Dunkirk and the miraculous rescue it was. Christopher Nolan has set out to change all that, and, for movie audiences who will enter the battle zone, they'll get a small glimpse of the terrifying situation took place during several terrifying days during World War II.
As the movie begins, about 400 thousand British and French forces have been pushed back by the Germans and are, basically, sitting ducks on the beaches of Dunkirk in France. The mission is to get them off the beach and back to Britain. The effort to do so will be one for the history books. The British government assumed it could only save about 10 percent of the men, but the mission was accomplished with unassuming fishermen and women using their small vessels to cross the English Channel and get their boys back.
With such a huge undertaking Nolan has focused on the stories of the every-man. Mark Rylance, (Wolf Hall, Bridge of Spies, BFG,) is a fisherman who with his son and a friend, begin a journey across the water to do their part. Kenneth Branagh is the British Naval commander in charge of the evacuation, which is hindered by too many sailors, too few ships and too many Germans willing to bomb the men on the beach. Fionn Whitehead and Aneurin Barnard are two sailors who try to squeeze their way onto a hospital ship by carrying a wounded man to the top of the queue, only to see their hopes of safety literally sink to the bottom of the sea. Tom Hardy and Jack Lowdon are RAF pilots on a sortie to protect the skies from the Third Reich's Luftwaffe.
As the movie begins, about 400 thousand British and French forces have been pushed back by the Germans and are, basically, sitting ducks on the beaches of Dunkirk in France. The mission is to get them off the beach and back to Britain. The effort to do so will be one for the history books. The British government assumed it could only save about 10 percent of the men, but the mission was accomplished with unassuming fishermen and women using their small vessels to cross the English Channel and get their boys back.
With such a huge undertaking Nolan has focused on the stories of the every-man. Mark Rylance, (Wolf Hall, Bridge of Spies, BFG,) is a fisherman who with his son and a friend, begin a journey across the water to do their part. Kenneth Branagh is the British Naval commander in charge of the evacuation, which is hindered by too many sailors, too few ships and too many Germans willing to bomb the men on the beach. Fionn Whitehead and Aneurin Barnard are two sailors who try to squeeze their way onto a hospital ship by carrying a wounded man to the top of the queue, only to see their hopes of safety literally sink to the bottom of the sea. Tom Hardy and Jack Lowdon are RAF pilots on a sortie to protect the skies from the Third Reich's Luftwaffe.
Nolan's script is sparse. The lion's share of the film is told in the desperation of the characters' faces and actions as they contemplate what to do, how to be safe, should they save others. When it comes to sound, Nolan spares no one. I saw the film in Imax and the seats literally shook whenever a bomb exploded or when the camera followed Hardy and Lowdon in their airplanes as they engaged in battle with the enemy. At the end of the hour and 46 minutes, the viewer will be exhausted, but riveted by the quiet performances in honor of the quiet heroes who didn't ask for accolades, but went back to work and went on to fight another day.
Dunkirk has received 90/100 from the Broadcast Critics Association and the Critics' Choice Seal.
Dunkirk has received 90/100 from the Broadcast Critics Association and the Critics' Choice Seal.