Hammerman Ikon

Hammerman Ikon Film Guide

Dunkirk
2017
****½
Director: Christopher Nolan
Cast: Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy

In the end of May 1940, the German Army has cornered the remaining British, French, and Belgian troops to Dunkirk, in northern France, where roughly 400,000 men wait to be shipped to safety in the UK. Christopher Nolan's captivating film covers this miraculous evacuation from the land, air, and sea. In the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, the German U-boats and dive bombers make sure that getting on the boat is as hazardous as staying on the shore. In and over the English Channel, a number of civilian vessels and three Spitfires and are on their way to assist in the rescue effort. These three story strands seem unconnected, but they play out in different time frames, which allows Nolan to weave another beautifully constructed non-linear narrative. This is a film about war, but not really a traditional war film. We don't see the military leaders masterminding the operation, we don't really learn anything about the central characters, and the enemy is a deadly but invisible presence. Although Nolan cannot quite recreate the scale of the actual events, as he is averse to using CGI, he does create an enthralling cinematic experience.