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FILM & SCORE: Dunkirk (2017) (Nolan/Zimmer)


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DUNKIRK

With 2017’s Dunkirk, directorial visionary Christopher Nolan offers a thriller set in history, and it’s a heart-pounding, blood-pumping, visceral and tense experience. With the aid of cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema and the acting of Kenneth Branagh, Fionn Whitehead, Mark Rylance, Tom Hardy, Cillian Murphy, and Harry Styles, to name a few, Nolan goes full throttle into the Dunkirk evacuation from the land, sea and sky. He covers every angle, and he doesn’t shy away from employing nearly every major natural phobia scene after scene.  

 

Dunkirk is primarily scenario-driven. There’s very little talking (basically none, and if any in very small amounts). Each scene is arranged to push the film forward and add to the adrenaline rush. The fabric of the film was weaved to maximum velocity and power.   

 

Additionally, if these circumstances didn’t get your heart rate up, Hans Zimmer’s score (rather, a collaboration between Zimmer, Benjamin Wallfisch, Lorne Balfe, and the creative usage of Edward Elgar’s Nimrod) pushes the point through seamlessly. While I myself have been highly critical of the album, the score is a thriller masterpiece and suits Dunkirk perfectly. I cannot imagine an orchestral score for this film that would even come close to being as appropriate as this, even though it would be a more pleasurable listening experience off the screen. Nonetheless, I’m almost tempted to go back to the OST after feeling the effectiveness on-screen. And whether that ends up being an improvement upon last time or not, I’m glad that I will still have gained a great amount of respect for the score and Hans Zimmer’s electronic sound environments in general.  

 

Dunkirk was shot with two 70mm cameras- IMAX MSM 908 and Panavision 65 HR. The former has a 1.43:1 aspect ratio, which is still regular widescreen but slightly taller than conventional shots. (see here.) I noticed the difference about 20 minutes in, but I wouldn’t say that it was choppy (although once you notice it, you do notice it). On all other levels the photography is keen- there's a certain plainness to the color, as it is a period piece. Everyone is wearing drab browns, monotonous greys, or something in between. It’s not a problem, it’s a necessity, and considering this Dunkirk comes out looking just fine. 

 

Regarding what genre one could place Dunkirk in, there's much debate as to whether or not it's a historical film, an action thriller, a survival epic, or something else. I feel like it needn't be categorized in such a limited way. Yes, it involves a historical event, but it's otherwise not tied to facts and real-life occurrences within said event that keep it from being an action-oriented thriller. Viewers don't require prior knowledge to feel the raw intensity of Dunkirk. “I didn’t view this as a war film. I viewed it as a survival story,” said Nolan to Variety. (see here for all Nolan and van Hoytema quote sources)

 

When asked about the contrast between Steven Spielberg’s war spectacle staple Saving Private Ryan and his own Dunkirk, Nolan states:

“I needed suspense, and the language of suspense is one where you can’t take your eyes from the screen. The language of horror is one where you hide your eyes. You’re looking away. It’s a different form of tension. We constructed our set-pieces not around violence, not around blood, but around physical jeopardy. The film has lost none of its power. It’s a truly horrific opening, and there are later sequences that are horrible to sit through. We didn’t want to compete with that because it is such an achievement. I realized I was looking for a different type of tension.”

 

Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema said to Variety:

“We’re thrown on the beach with these characters without knowing much about them. Everything comes at you, and it’s immediate and visceral. We took away anything personal or sentimental.” 

 

I like to point out that Nolan sets up three or so major viewpoints- from the land, the sea, and the sky. In this way he can follow the story from three different strands, sometimes intertwining and sometimes unwinding them. It's very well executed.

 

Dunkirk effectively throws the audience into a full-force realistic experience on each and every level, from camera choices to the score, and from a slew of worried looking British actors to scenario-building. It does it's job splendidly. 

 

RATING: ***** out of *****

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