Pulsating sounds, like the waves crashing gently yet with
purpose on Dunkirk, Christopher
Nolan’s masterpiece is more than just one for the ages, it’s a framework, a
primer for genuine films to come. A big fan of Nolan’s since Memento, Dark
Knight and Inception; this World War Two epic is starkly different in its treatment
from cerebral to the spiritual. Here Nolan is unleashed, stripped of anything
to prove with special effects and awe inspiring emotions; Dunkirk instead focuses on divine
transformation. All the hard hitting action and thrilling dialogue of his prior
work is mostly omitted and we are left with our guts in hand absorbing the
reality through our own perceptions, savoring the human spirit; embracing
courage, survival, hope and shell shocked despair as if intensity were reimagined. The little dialogue we hear is poignantly meaningful like a
timeless melody of the soul. The men lined up on the beach fearing bombardment,
the out of place nationalist cruel and crude in his survival, are met with glances
of courageous empathy; a great metaphor for today’s political climate. Even the
indignation expressed at being abandoned becomes itself symbolic of societal
failures because the themes are embraced by the overall vision. A case study in
Poe’s “Single Effect Theory” essay, every moment serves the substance.
Not even the majority slightly above average acting could
hinder the perfect pace of the story’s intertwining timelines. While adequate
enough the films cast was not up to the task of such monumental direction,
except for the work of Oscar winner Mark Rylance who once again
proved the accolades as a storied stage actor true. A citizen boat owner
risking all to heed the call, he saves us from ourselves defining faith, hope
and, compassion. Rylance understood the depth of Nolan’s painting, like Dali’s
clock or Van Gogh’s Starry Night, the words through him were just as epic as
the eternal imagery. If only he could have read Churchill’s speech instead of
the hateful bitter solider despite the words seemingly healing him towards the
end. Instead, as soldiers admonished a pilot, he reassures him, “They know
where you were.” referring to the men who were in the same boat. That simple
line like a glance that freed a man from imprisonment for negligent murder was a
triumph of will, tolerance and, justice. Another Oscar winner Hans Zimmer likewise matches the film’s intimacy with one of the greatest
scores of all time. The constant suspense and passion is transformed into the ethereal
by the sound.
Dunkirk embraces its motivation like Kubrick’s Paths of
Glory, Bergman’s Seventh Seal, or Well’s Citizen Kane by cultivating the purity
of truth despite its reality yet, dare I say, with more aplomb. Like the navy
of common men who took to the sea to pull troops off Dunkirk let directors also
heed the call and deny Hollywood’s ironic indolence placing spectacle ahead of
purpose.
