BREATHTAKING EPICWARTALE

IWAS overwhelmed with emotion after watching this masterful war epic by Christopher Nolan. It’s filled with well-timed action, rousing music and incredible performances, all with very minimal dialogue. Well-paced and structured, everything that happens in the movie has its reason and serves as an important piece to a larger picture.

If you like Mel Gibson’s you’ll certainly love this one. is probably Nolan’s best work to date, combining the well-paced structure of with the beautiful lensing of

Some dislike war movies due to the violence and gore, while others don’t want to be reminded of the atrocities of war.

has neither literal blood or gore and Nolan showcases the atrocities of war through the soldiers’ emotions and shock, as well as their incredible story of survival. Based on the historical evacuation of Allied troops from the beaches of Dunkirk in France during WWII, it is known as the greatest military disaster — 400,000 trapped British soldiers had to be evacuated after they were surrounded by German troops.

The chaos and desperation of these soldiers waiting to be rescued is well-captured in Nolan’s gritty storytelling, which shifts between multiple interweaving storylines that cover the entire series of events at Dunkirk.

Told from three perspectives — land, sea and air — these storylines unfold along different timelines, each following its own pace.

Private Tommy (Fionn Whitehead) is the only survivor of his battalion to make it to Dunkirk beach. He then meets a shellshocked Gibson (Aneurin Barnard) and the two meet another of their own, Alex (Harry Styles), as they help injured soldiers to board a ship back to England.

Up in the air, air force pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden) try to defend the British navy ships and soldiers on the beach from the German Luftwaffe planes.

On the water, a civilian boat Moonstone, driven by Mr Dawson (Mark Rylance) and his son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) head out to Dunkirk as part of the civilian fleet to help bring back the stranded troops. From the sound of a clock ticking to enemy planes flying past the troops, the rich score from Hans Zimmer reinforces a sense of urgency to the action.

The cast, both young and old (including Kenneth Branagh and Cillian Murphy), add weight to the movie with deft performances. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema (of and fame) gives the movie a picturesque look so watch it on an IMAX screen.

Extensive practical effects were used and 6,000 extras were employed to play the soldiers. Actual ships that participated in the real evacuation and era-appropriate fighter jets were also utilised.

All these results in a breathtakingly gorgeous film worthy of all the praises it receives.