Dunkirk

Last night I saw Dunkirk, the new movie from Christopher Nolan. It tells the dramatic story of the Evacuation of Dunkirk in 1940.

The story is told from three perspectives - land, sea and air. The characters each have their own story which intermeshes with each other. The timelines for the different stories also overlap and sometimes the same scene is retold from the different perspectives of the characters and the different angles they see the action from.

I particularly liked the subtlety in the film. There is no A New Hope style newsreel, explaining the situation. Instead, the historical information is slowly fed to the audience through the characters and the action. For example, instead of trying to explain the dire situation at Dunkirk, a simple German propaganda leaflet sums it up.  

Nolan's approach to filming Dunkirk is simply amazing. The panoramic views are stunning and the film uses real planes and real destroyers. There is a distinct lack of computer-generated Imagery which too many films use nowadays. The music is very subtle but as the pace of the action really never ceases, it helps keep you on the edge of your seat.

The true heroes of the movie have to be the Spitfires. The aerial dogfight scenes are simply breathtaking and have a feel or realism to them. It'll have many wargamers (like myself) dreaming of aerial combat games such as Bag the Hun or the soon available Blood Red Skies.

I've deliberately avoided talking about the main characters and what happens to them (no spoilers here!). You do get a feeling of the sacrifices and grim choices which had to be made to get so many men safely home. Some may grumble about the few inaccuracies in the film, such as the use of the Mole or the colour of the German planes, but that didn't spoil a thing for me.

While it is a movie about war, it is not a 'gung ho' war movie, so it will be a good one to see with your significant other. If you haven't seen Dunkirk, do go see it - this is definitely one to watch on the big screen. If you have seen it, you will probably want to see it again. Amazing!