Dunkerque (Dunkirk)

Soldiers wander war torn streets, haggard looking, jetting from alleyways as if avoiding reality itself. A sudden bevy of bullets are heard and the small group is picked off, one by one, until the one remaining soldier, having been saved by his need for privacy to relieve himself, darts out from behind the wall and runs for cover. He jumps over a barricade where allies are returning fire, and makes his way through the men, until the buildings open up to reveal the beaches of Dunkirk, overrun by retreating soldiers standing alongside the water line, waiting for a miraculous salvation.

The scene of thousands of begotten soldiers trapped, watching all around them for fear of attack, is but one of the many poignant scenes in Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Nolan retells the story of the Northern French battle within three time lines, amongst land, sea, and air, bringing a level of artistic introspect rarely used in cinema. Forgoing dialogue and character storylines for visual narrative, it is in the landscape that Christopher Nolan creates his most powerful player. The dreariness of the beaches decorated in bodies and tainted with blood, dark seas swallowing ships laden with men seeking salvation, and ominous skies reigning terror impartially, all to the backdrop of a devastated tune. The musical score personifies the terror, as whistling skies bring hundreds of eyes upwards, and you find yourself gripping the theatre seat for stability amongst the sinking ships and falling planes.

Although the Battle of Dunkirk’s story is etched into history books, one can not help but cheer at the sight of hundreds of civilian boats bravely responding to the embattled shores of Northern France. And as Farrier (Tom Hardy), the last airborne pilot, risks his own life to save countless others, the spirit of the movie transcends beyond previous war cinema in an artistically ambitious way. Perhaps the best thing about Dunkirk is how plainly it wears its artistry. It doesn't leave us cheering generated superheroes or chattering over exaggerated storylines. It simply reminds us how in moment of historical tragedy, humanity perseveres.”

Seen on August 8th, at the Plaza Bonita AMC in San Diego