Christoper Nolan.
The man, the myth, the legend.
My favourite director has returned with yet another stunning picture, telling the story of the epic evacuation mission that became a turning point in World War 2. Recreating Dunkirk was set to be an ambitious challenge and he did it.
First, the advertising campaign. High budget af.
I feel as though the promo team for Dunkirk had been bombarding us for years when in actual fact it came to us in late 2016. We were given the initial trailer and then radio silence, naturally, this gap built a lot of excitement, anticipation and got a lot of us talking. We saw nothing from set, nothing from the cast and certainly nothing from the big man himself.
Late June 2017, Dunkirk's social media pages have a countdown clock in preparation for the release of the upcoming trailer. Following this we have weeks of interviews, TV specials and not one, but three premieres in London, France and New York.
If like me, you watched the live stream of the Leicester Square premiere, you'll have heard Nolan talking about how he finds authenticity in his work incredibly significant. He uses CGI sparingly, on a project he aims to use as much in-camera as the crew possibly can and edit it at a later date if need be. There were no green screens, Dunkirk was filmed on the very beaches where the soldiers would have been decades ago and the explosions and tanks were genuine.
The scale of this film is in-fucking-credible.
Using real boats & planes from the era, as you can imagine, brings the action to life. If you know this it adds something super cool to your audience experience, it's more than simply watching and taking pleasure in the film, you're experiencing it.
Fun Fact: Nolan had over sixty-two ships out on the water and although the extras in the film (to make up the army) were large; Nolan did use cardboard cutouts of soldiers and military vehicles to create the illusion of a large army.
One aspect which is always important to me, the score. Dunkirk was Hans Zimmer's sixth collaboration with Nolan- previously working together on films such as The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-12), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). The composition is emotive, relevant and present throughout the film, it creates an atmosphere and sets the tone for the various moods and situations.
Personally, my favourite track is Supermarine- it gets the heart racing with the progressive melody that echoes the sound of a ticking clock. You feel like time is running out, it puts you on the edge of your seat.
Harry Styles.
Dunkirk would have been on my watchlist, either way, Christopher Nolan has always been and will always be my best director. I was anticipating this film before I realised Harry had been cast when it was revealed it just made the prospect more sensational. He did have more lines than anticipated and I thought, being absolutely biased, he was brilliant. I did have my reservations but like I'd been saying all along, Nolan wouldn't have cast Harry is he wasn't good enough. Plus, Harry Styles in IMAX is something I would pay to see all day, every day, for the rest of my life!
This was Nolan's shortest film with a run time of one hour and forty-six minutes. Don't be fooled by this, it'll keep you on you're tiptoes throughout, you think you're safe and then BOOM you're drowning again. The pace of the film is distinct and distant which only makes it more fascinating to an audience, we all want to see something new when we go the cinema and that's why Nolan continues to push the boundaries.
Dunkirk is an immersive cinematic experience, one that I'll never forget. What's more, it keeps an important piece of history alive, a story and event that many of us misplace. It's entertaining and engaging but moreover relays some humbling messages.
I feel as though the promo team for Dunkirk had been bombarding us for years when in actual fact it came to us in late 2016. We were given the initial trailer and then radio silence, naturally, this gap built a lot of excitement, anticipation and got a lot of us talking. We saw nothing from set, nothing from the cast and certainly nothing from the big man himself.
Late June 2017, Dunkirk's social media pages have a countdown clock in preparation for the release of the upcoming trailer. Following this we have weeks of interviews, TV specials and not one, but three premieres in London, France and New York.
If like me, you watched the live stream of the Leicester Square premiere, you'll have heard Nolan talking about how he finds authenticity in his work incredibly significant. He uses CGI sparingly, on a project he aims to use as much in-camera as the crew possibly can and edit it at a later date if need be. There were no green screens, Dunkirk was filmed on the very beaches where the soldiers would have been decades ago and the explosions and tanks were genuine.
The scale of this film is in-fucking-credible.
Using real boats & planes from the era, as you can imagine, brings the action to life. If you know this it adds something super cool to your audience experience, it's more than simply watching and taking pleasure in the film, you're experiencing it.
Fun Fact: Nolan had over sixty-two ships out on the water and although the extras in the film (to make up the army) were large; Nolan did use cardboard cutouts of soldiers and military vehicles to create the illusion of a large army.
One aspect which is always important to me, the score. Dunkirk was Hans Zimmer's sixth collaboration with Nolan- previously working together on films such as The Dark Knight Trilogy (2005-12), Inception (2010) and Interstellar (2014). The composition is emotive, relevant and present throughout the film, it creates an atmosphere and sets the tone for the various moods and situations.
Personally, my favourite track is Supermarine- it gets the heart racing with the progressive melody that echoes the sound of a ticking clock. You feel like time is running out, it puts you on the edge of your seat.
Dunkirk is told from three different points of view...
1.The Mole
Some American audiences assumed this was a character in the film. However, the evacuation of soldiers on Dunkirk was largely accomplished through two long jetties that protected the beach, these were the Moles.
2. The Sea
Not referring to the large military vessels we see throughout the film. A large number of small ships from the South of England were pressed into service to aid the evacuation. Speedboats, car ferries and pleasure boats, all helped evacuate the soldiers from the beaches. Mark Rylance plays Mr Dawson, who captains his own pleasure boat along with son Peter (Tom Glynn-Carney) and his friend George (Barry Keoghan). People like Mr Dawson, played an imperative part in the evacuation of Dunkirk, without the small vessels Britain would have saved less men.
3. The Air
We are in the spitfires with Farrier (Tom Hardy) and Collins (Jack Lowden), not only does this enable us to experience the battle from the air, we can recognise the problem many pilots faced- fuel shortage. We see Farrier, fight to use his fuel in the most effective way in order to make it to Dunkirk.
The film may be told from three varying outlooks but Nolan's intricate way of narrating allows us to feel like we're getting so much more. Think about when we're watching the story from The Mole, we get to see what's going on with soldiers like Tommy & Alex but also the turmoil and chaos for the Colonel & Commander.
Dunkirk was filmed in both IMAX and 70mm. For my first viewing, I went all out, I bought myself a ticket to the Odeon Gallery, sat back with some popcorn and had the best time. That screen showed the film in IMAX, god it was unreal! I was lucky enough to watch the film in 70mm too when I went to London, I went to Leicester Square and will admit to fangirling a bit as it was the first time I'd gotten to go. I can confirm that 70mm is even better than IMAX!
The cast, let's chat.
Big names like Hardy, Branagh and Rylance were in talks to join the cast in late 2015, Cillian Murphy joined later on which was no surprise to anyone as he's worked with Nolan several times previous.
Young Fionn Whitehead was cast in March 2016 as the lead Tommy. Honestly, I don't think being named the protagonist means too much in this film, even though it's often clear that Tommy leads the story. Personally, I find that I watch and identify with the characters as a whole because there are so many levels to the narrative but of course, individually we'll be more likely to connect with certain characters.
What's truly wonderful about the cast is the mix of established household names and fresh, upcoming talent. Whitehead, Glynn-Carney, Styles- all relatively new faces in the acting world who now have Dunkirk under their belt as their big break. Nolan knew from the get-go he wanted an all British cast for his first war film. (Can we consider how visually attractive this cast is too, please and thanks!)
I think I've covered all the aspects I wanted to chat about but I can't stop without writing something about my little sunshine.
The film may be told from three varying outlooks but Nolan's intricate way of narrating allows us to feel like we're getting so much more. Think about when we're watching the story from The Mole, we get to see what's going on with soldiers like Tommy & Alex but also the turmoil and chaos for the Colonel & Commander.
Dunkirk was filmed in both IMAX and 70mm. For my first viewing, I went all out, I bought myself a ticket to the Odeon Gallery, sat back with some popcorn and had the best time. That screen showed the film in IMAX, god it was unreal! I was lucky enough to watch the film in 70mm too when I went to London, I went to Leicester Square and will admit to fangirling a bit as it was the first time I'd gotten to go. I can confirm that 70mm is even better than IMAX!
The cast, let's chat.
Big names like Hardy, Branagh and Rylance were in talks to join the cast in late 2015, Cillian Murphy joined later on which was no surprise to anyone as he's worked with Nolan several times previous.
Young Fionn Whitehead was cast in March 2016 as the lead Tommy. Honestly, I don't think being named the protagonist means too much in this film, even though it's often clear that Tommy leads the story. Personally, I find that I watch and identify with the characters as a whole because there are so many levels to the narrative but of course, individually we'll be more likely to connect with certain characters.
What's truly wonderful about the cast is the mix of established household names and fresh, upcoming talent. Whitehead, Glynn-Carney, Styles- all relatively new faces in the acting world who now have Dunkirk under their belt as their big break. Nolan knew from the get-go he wanted an all British cast for his first war film. (Can we consider how visually attractive this cast is too, please and thanks!)
I think I've covered all the aspects I wanted to chat about but I can't stop without writing something about my little sunshine.
Harry Styles.
Dunkirk would have been on my watchlist, either way, Christopher Nolan has always been and will always be my best director. I was anticipating this film before I realised Harry had been cast when it was revealed it just made the prospect more sensational. He did have more lines than anticipated and I thought, being absolutely biased, he was brilliant. I did have my reservations but like I'd been saying all along, Nolan wouldn't have cast Harry is he wasn't good enough. Plus, Harry Styles in IMAX is something I would pay to see all day, every day, for the rest of my life!
This was Nolan's shortest film with a run time of one hour and forty-six minutes. Don't be fooled by this, it'll keep you on you're tiptoes throughout, you think you're safe and then BOOM you're drowning again. The pace of the film is distinct and distant which only makes it more fascinating to an audience, we all want to see something new when we go the cinema and that's why Nolan continues to push the boundaries.
Dunkirk is an immersive cinematic experience, one that I'll never forget. What's more, it keeps an important piece of history alive, a story and event that many of us misplace. It's entertaining and engaging but moreover relays some humbling messages.
Dunkirk was my film of 2017.
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