SYNOPSIS: In May 1940, Germany advanced into France, trapping Allied troops on the beaches of Dunkirk. Under air and ground cover from British and French forces, troops were slowly and methodically evacuated from the beach using every serviceable naval and civilian vessel that could be found. At the end of this heroic mission, 330,000 French, British, Belgian and Dutch soldiers were safely evacuated.
I’m going to let you in on a secret: I am a HUGE fan of Christopher Nolan and his films.
(Yes, I know what you all are saying: NO WAY! But yes, I’m a closet Nolan fan. *wink*)
On a serious note, while his THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY is a damn masterpiece, his latest film – DUNKIRK – just might be his best movie to date.
Only Chris Nolan could come up with such a – dare a say “unorthodox” – premise of a film and get it released during the prime, “Summer Blockbuster” season! Perhaps that’s why he’s a genius…and well, bankable.
In short, Nolan’s DUNKIRK is a unique and brilliant take on the story of the 1940 Dunkirk evacuation during World War II.
I’m a history nerd, took 30 hours of history classes in college (one of them being an in-depth study of WWII), and have taught history in school for 30 years. Thus, DUNKIRK is a movie that’s right up my alley. Nolan could’ve told the story of Dunkirk straight-up as a linear, historically-accurate, war movie, and I’d been on it like white on rice.
BUT, this is Chris Nolan we’re talking about, OK? He didn’t do a linear, historically-accurate (the event is, but the characters are fictional, FYI), war movie. Nolan’s DUNKIRK is not a WWII “biopic,” if you will. Think of DUNKIRK is sorta piece of historically-accurate historical fiction told “Nolan-style.”
And it’s awesome.
In Chris and company’s story of Dunkirk, he tells three different stories – on land, sea, and air – separately and with different timelines. But in the end, it all comes together rather brilliantly.
With all that said, I totally recommend watching Nolan’s DUNKIRK two or three times…plus. Like most of his movies, there’s a lot of subtlety in it that isn’t always picked up upon a first viewing. (And yes, I’m talking to all you THE DARK KNIGHT RISES haters!)
As far as the “extras,” I don’t remember Mr. Nolan talking so much about one of his films than on this one. Sure, there’s the fantastic featurette about the making of THE DARK KNIGHT TRILOGY, but that was “after the fact,” if you will. Regardless, there’s some great stuff here by Mr. Nolan and others that’s worth a watch.
Folk’s, don’t buy this movie for the bonus features, buy it for experience of watching a totally awesome and absolutely brilliant film. – Bill “Jett” Ramey
GRADE: A+
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