From the very first frames, Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk clutches you and hurls you onto the beaches of Dunkirk, during World War 2, along with 400,000 allied soldiers surrounded by the enemy, facing the petrifying prospect of total annihilation. The place of safety for these stranded soldiers is coasts of Dover across the English Channel, a mere twenty-six miles away and visible with the naked eye. However, the ships and airplanes that would normally have been deployed for rescue and evacuation operations were reserved for a prospective battle; in addition, the waters are too shallow for large rescue ships. The need of the hour, as urged by the then newly appointed PM Winston Churchill was a ‘miracle of deliverance’. Which was accomplished in the form of a flotilla of hundreds of family yachts, fishing boats, marine vessels, and lifeboats, helmed largely by a group of gallant civilians braving the vicious seas, the intemperate weather, and the aerial bombs. The absence of these acts of extreme courage may have irrevocably altered the course of the war.
Structure is very fundamental the part of storytelling for Nolan. Nolan has never been shy of experimentation with time, perspective, and memory, most of his past works make that pretty evident. Here, he mounts his story on a triad of separate strands, namely land, sea and air, each operating in disparate timelines of a week, a day and an hour respectively. As the story unfolds, the strands work in parallel, at times confluence, sometimes juxtaposing each other and occasionally in loop. Each of these strands delivering their own perspectives for the same occurrences almost providing a Rashomon like experience.
Dunkirk also avoids many trapping of the war genre. There are no lengthy expositions about war strategies, or the geographical settings or the faced impediments. Three are not cigar puffing generals delivering 'inspiring' speeches to their troops. There is no saccharine loaded contrived sentimentality about fellowship among soldiers or gratuitous displays of jingoism. There is no Norman Rockwellque family awaiting the soldier's return home. There is no the depiction of gore to shock us and remind us that ‘war is hell’.
Defying all these conventions, Nolan bravely resorts to minimalistic approach with scant dialogue and very little in the form of backstory even for the principal characters. He pays tributes to the glorious era of silent cinema, challenging himself and his audience to rely solely on the power of the image and the background score to comprehend the various nuances and emotions of the story. Interesting to note that Nolan's screenplay is a mere 76 pages long, almost half the length of his previous screenplays. This resulted in the duration of the film is a mere 104 minutes that result in are very concentrated and intense cinematic experience, also making it Nolan’s shortest film since The Following.
Despite being understated, the film is replete with symbolism, subtexts, and themes that probably merit multiple viewings. The opening of the film is an obvious metaphor for birth, as we witness a soldier dodging bullets and scampering through the narrow alleys of a small French town to emerging rather suddenly onto the almost boundless beaches of Dunkirk with stranded soldiers scattered as far as the range of the human eye reaches. There is no clear mention of the Axis forces or the Nazis by name or symbols; they are beyond the scope of the story and almost appear like abstract constructs merely termed as ‘the enemy’. They eerily emanate from the still skies almost like dragons to wreak havoc as they launch bombs.
The cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema manages the rare feat of providing claustrophobic experience even as he depicts the boundless. Despite the vast beaches, the soldiers find themselves trapped in a dilapidated ship or an overcrowded bridge. Despite being on the boundless seas, the Mark Rylance’s character and his companions find themselves trapped on a small yacht. Despite being in skies among clouds, Tom Hardy’s character of the RAF pilot finds himself trapped in spitfire plane running short on fuel. The prevalence of bleakness, loneliness, danger, death, and coldness (both literally and figuratively) never leaves the audience. This is a tribute to the power of the image.
Another vital element of this film is Han Zimmer’s powerful score, which is a potent amalgam of a myriad of emotions. It catapults the films sense of urgency but never forgets its underlying pathos. The seemless mixing of sound effects and the background score is exemplar. A perfect instance of this is the blending of amplified sounds of a ticking clock along with score or even other sound of the bullets. This results elevating the levels of tension to the highest and never really lets go. This is a soundtrack reminiscent of Bernard Herman’s collaborations with Hitchcock.
A great moment in the film has an extreme close up of Kenneth Brannagh’s stoic naval captain as he first notices the rescue boats over the horizon, it is a triumph of cinema as a medium, understated, sans any dialogue, relying completely on the actors power to emote ably aided by background score. Mark Rylance as the determined British patriot resolute in his plan to rescue as many of the soldiers in harm’s way is in fine form, his character is understated and yet it is the power of the actor that brings him to life as we gradually learn various details of his background. Also very effective is Tom Hardy as the RAF pilot, with almost his entire face covered, Hardy manages to convey the stress, the pain and fear through his eyes. Also in fine form is Cillian Murphy as the enigmatic shell-shocked naval soldier rescued by Rylance’s character.
The films ends on a Churchilian note, but once again, Nolan resists the temptation of contrived grandeur. He could have easily got Brannagh or any actor with a rich baritone voice to mouth Churchill's speech but instead we have one of the soldier with an unremarkable voice read these lines rather plainly from a newspaper as we revisits the images of the various theatres of battle that Dunkirk plays. Ending the film on a haunting and soul stirring note that is one of the most absorbing moments on screen that pays rich tributes to the human spirit.
A great deal of the grit and realism emanates from the fact that most of the film was shot on location and almost everything on the screen that we see was real, as always Nolan resists the temptation to go CGI. The result is a riveting experience from start to finish, that absorbs you, compels you and remains with you for days to come. This is a film in the great tradition of Lean classics such as Dr.Zhivago, Bridge on the River Kwai and Lawrence of Arabia that achieve the exceptional accomplishment of being big screen opuses with its powerful imagery and score, but never ceasing to focus on its story and its compelling characters with all the complexities, moral dilemmas and idiosyncrasies. Another complete conquest of the maestro Christopher Nolan who has mastered the art of producing popular films without sacrificing an inch of artistic merit.
The preponderance of 24X7 Cable TV and streaming services has caused ‘experts’ to proclaim that this is the beginning of the end for cinema. Why would anybody labor their way into the cinema hall battling traffic and inclement weather for a time-bound showing of a film when they can watch it all on their handheld device. For those looking for riveting stories, interesting characters, and complex plots contemporary mainstream Hollywood leaves you utterly disappointed.
Then comes the monumental Dunkirk, handsomely mounted on a scale such that it is essential to be watched on a big screen, besides being an audio-visual spectacle it is also an absorbing and compelling drama about the triumph of the human spirit. It serves as a timely reminder for filmmakers around that that when cinema shines, it can effortlessly eclipse the greatest television or web series. For that, cinephiles all over owe a great deal of gratitude to Mr. Nolan.
Then comes the monumental Dunkirk, handsomely mounted on a scale such that it is essential to be watched on a big screen, besides being an audio-visual spectacle it is also an absorbing and compelling drama about the triumph of the human spirit. It serves as a timely reminder for filmmakers around that that when cinema shines, it can effortlessly eclipse the greatest television or web series. For that, cinephiles all over owe a great deal of gratitude to Mr. Nolan.
For more articles by this author on Newslaundry click here and Swarajya click here!
Comments
Post a Comment