Dunkirk: an Impressionist Masterpiece

After a career of mind-bending fantasies, writer-director Christopher Nolan has created something new in the annals of war films an intimate epicIt’s an experience a spellbound chaotic allegory of war and a tale of indomitable human spirit for survival. Yes, I discussed the tale of Dunkirk helmed by Christopher Nolan; it was a tale of survival, longing, and deliverance.

The geniuses of Nolan and his vivid understanding of space-time of visual structure unfolded a panorama of unrelenting braveness and humanity. The compact and engaging screenplay demands your every bit of attention, It tugs you're every optical and acoustic sensory nerve till you become one and inescapable from the narrative. 

The story which described to us in three cascading perception of land, sea and air which is also are three major aspects of modern warfare gave us glimpses of trapped allied soldiers on the narrow beach of Dunkirk awaiting for deliverance or their impending doom. It confronted us with agony and longing of soldiers and the unflinching instinct of survival. 

After the visceral “saving private Ryan” which scrutinized war and morality behind it, Nolan took this notion and flipped it upside down synthesizing “DUNKIRK” as a tale of indomitable Human spirit and its resilience against surmountable odd.It’s a tale of heroics without any false heroes and manufactured sentiments; it harnessed the collective morality of British people and induced a deeply humanized tale of rescue mission with emotional layers which bursts with each bullet and bomb fired upon the stranded allied forces. Nolan did not tell us a story of great victory, nor any glory but a tale of hope, bravery and one of the greatest military evacuations.

There's little doubt that Nolan has, without sentimentality or sanctimony, raised that genre to the level of art. In its rendering it "an impressionist masterpiece" and writing: "Although the film is deeply moving at unexpected moments, it's not due to any manufactured sentimentality or false heroics. Bursts of emotion here explode like depth charges, at times and for reasons that will no doubt vary from viewer to viewer. Unlike, say Spielberg manipulating the drama in order to play the viewer's heartstrings. Nor is there anything resembling a John Williams score to stir the emotional pot”. It’s just profoundly realistic, void of any fabrication in order to invoke emotion and empathy for the sake of drama. It just provoked inner depths of instincts and stimuli sometimes escorting an abysmal feel of urgency.

Dunkirk is a landmark with the resonant force of an enduring screen classic. Every actor which shares the frame of Dunkirk delivered brilliant and intimate expressions, which linger with you even if there is minimal dialogue to establish them. Be it legendary Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy the Shakespearean Kenneth branagh or the One Direction fame Harry Styles each and every actor embraces the chaos and cathartics of war and survival to project a relentless tale. 

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot the film on IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large format film stock, and what a marvelous job he has done. The scale is immense, and all the more so in the IMAX format that shows the action to best advantage. The film made extensive use of practical effects, such as employing thousands of extras, assembling boats that had participated in the real Dunkirk evacuation, and using genuine era-appropriate planes for aerial sequences.

The cinematography is astounding, ambitious and audacious; its audacious imagery captured the boundless sky, the dazzling blues and the battered coastline of Dunkirk with awe-provoking shots. Most importantly it’s going to be the Magna-Carta of aerial combat; it captures aerial combat with all its glory and horror and leaves us guessing the fate of the Spitfires.

Hans Zimmer with his score in Dunkirk crowned himself as a maestro of the ominous, dark and edgy background score. With the clock ticking the score keeps tugging your senses towards an impending doom or a veiled enemy. The score alone could pump enough adrenaline in your system to keep you on the edge of seat throughout the movie.

Even With all these words, I couldn’t touch the peripheries of feeling I experienced, Guys it’s just not only a movie it’s an experience a never-ending ecstasy of visual and acoustic senses. it will resonate not only in your memory but also in your memoirs, generation hence. It will be a lightning rod for hope and aspiration as it concludes with one of the great speech of Winston Churchill “We shall go on to the end. 

We shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air, and we shall defend our island, whatever the cost may be. We shall fight on the beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and if, which I do not for a moment believe, this island or a large part of it were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God's good time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue and the liberation of the old. by  Winston Churchill

Dunkirk received praise for its screenplay, direction, musical score, and cinematography; some critics called it Nolan's best work, and one of the greatest war films.The film was nominated for a total of 8 Academy Awards, including Best Picture and Best Director. This is the first time Nolan has been nominated as director, and his third time as a producer. Dunkirk's nominations include Best Picture, Best Director, Best Editing, Best Cinematography, Best Original Score, Best Production Design, Best Sound Mixing, and Best Sound Editing.

If you haven't watched this movie, I highly recommend it.

I am going with 9.5/10 for this relentless, Visceral audacious war drama which will be Etched as one of the Masterpieces of Visual Storytelling.