Honest Review: Dunkirk

Review courtesy: Archana Kulkarni

Movie: Dunkirk

Director: Christopher Nolan

Cast: Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Harry Styles and Cillian Murphy

The battle of Dunkirk was the defense and evacuation of over 300,000 stranded British, French, and the Belgian soldiers who were held on the beaches of Dunkirk by the Nazi Germans during the second world war. The mission known as Operation Dynamo involved the use of private fishing boats of the civilians to save these troops.

With a very less context to the World War 2 history, Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk kickstarts with a focus on this rescue at Dunkirk where the British and allied troops were being stranded on the beaches of the English Channel where they await their rescue back home. The film keeps moving across different elements of scenes which initially makes you bit lose track of the scenes but

The film keeps moving across different elements of scenes which initially makes you bit lose track of the scenes but eventually, you get the gist.

It starts with the Mole, at the Dunkirk harbor where the soldiers wait hoping to get into the ship while knowing that anytime a bomb would shred them across the beaches

Then, the Air where the two air force pilots with full rigor trying to keep the enemy away.

And then, the Sea, where the civilian yatcher whose has lost one of his sons in the war and trying to give his best to this rescue mission along with  Though the theme is around the war , the enemy is never seen except for bomber planes and son and a helper boy who wished to see himself in the news paper one day.

Though the theme is around the war, the enemy is never seen except for bomber planes and son and a helper boy who wished to see himself in the newspaper one day. Dunkirk does not try to give us the feel of a war film as such but appears to be more of an enduring film while capturing the reactions of the characters to these situations. it’s a film that has a very minimal setup but does manage to get us hooked to the film to the end.

The film cast, mostly unknowns does have a few actors such as Kenneth Branagh who plays the high-ranking naval officer and who decides to stays back for the French , Farrier (Tom Hardy),  the Air Force pilot who in most part of the film shows his brilliant expressions through masked goggled eyes and the civilian yatcher Dawson (Mark Rylance) all in their small appearances, do bring a great impact in their own ways. Tommy (Fionn Whithead) as the young soldier lad and Alex (Harry Styles) also manage to hold their scenes quite well.

Nolan has quite well tried to capture the various reactions and emotions either through the desperate and helpless soldiers, the Air Force pilot with his masked face, the friendly attitude of the civilian and his son’s  to the traumatized pilot shivering and refusing to talk but a stuttering mention of U-boat. All of these bring great additions of people study to the film. This story in the WW2 seems more centered on the despairs of the soldiers, the U-boats, dive bombers, and brave civilians in their fishing boats across the channel. The result of this array, as the film moves towards the climax makes it captivating.

The result of this array, as the film moves towards the climax makes it captivating.

Overall, this seems a short action film compared to his other films or the war films but as the story unfolds the colossal of IMAX scenes of the grey skies over the mass of blue, this is an experience only to be taken on the big screen with due credit to the director of photography, DP Hoyte Van Hoytema.

I would give a rating of 4/5 to Dunkirk. Definitely worth a watch!