Director: Christopher Nolan
Writers: Christopher Nolan
Actors: Fionn
Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, Aneurin Barnard, Tom Hardy, Kenneth Branagh, Mark
Rylance
Christopher Nolan wrote and directed this movie to dramatize the evacuation
of Allied soldiers who are surrounded by German forces during World War II. There is literally no escape from the beaches
of Dunkirk except for the military ships, which the Germans destroy in a
barrage of air firepower. Ultimately, an
appeal is sent out to civilian boats to come to the rescue of over 300,000
soldiers stuck on the Dunkirk shores. Hundreds of boats -- trawlers, lifeboats, pleasure yachts -- answered the call for help.
The movie
focuses on half a dozen soldiers, each with his own agenda, but all motivated
to survive the disastrous trap. There
are fine soul-searching moments for the soldiers, and the fact that most of
them are not readily recognizable superstars makes each scene more real and
visceral. Mark Rylance, as owner of a
fishing boat who cannot ignore the call for help, is quite wonderful as a
humble man who makes heroic choices.
There are
many emotional moments in this movie. As
a director, Christopher Nolan is brilliant in depicting the horrible aftermath of
bomb attacks, underwater as well as on ships and land. Some of the frames are virtual artistic
masterpieces of cinematography.
For me, the
storyline was very difficult to follow.
Because I wasn’t clear as to what was really happening, I was frustrated
and confused at times. It might have
been helpful for Kenneth Branagh to take a more active role in the film to
clarify the events taking place. Perhaps
Nolan didn’t want to insult his audience with narrative, but I would have
welcomed a little more back story. Nevertheless,
this is a powerful film, depicting how life-threatening circumstances bring out the worst and best in people.
GEN: 8
JUST: N/A HUVA: 8
http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0574229/?ref_=tt_cl_t7
TAGS: Dunkirk, Christopher Nolan, Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Fionn Whitehead, Damien Bonnard, Aneurin Barnard
