Dunkirk

Going into a war film, i'm usually pretty iffy about it. They never seem to interest me initially, but there's a few that really surprise me once I sit down and watch them. Christopher Nolan's Dunkirk is an excellent example of a war film done right. Something that's always bursting with tension and dread, sorrow and longing, and enough action spectacle to keep you completely engaged for the entire runtime. There aren't really any main characters or story arcs in Dunkirk, but rather three separate stories that operate on separate spans of time, but all interconnect in some way by the end. Nolan always loves to play around with the concept of time, and although I don't think it was necessary here, it was definitely interesting to watch unfold. This is a movie almost entirely about the Dunkirk evacuation. No real character development. No side plots and story arcs. Just pure moment. Once you take that for what it is, the film really shows its true colors. Some might be really annoyed by the structure and plot, but I thought it was brilliant. There was nothing else bogging the story down, just a straight up raw telling of the Dunkirk evacuation. The music, holy shit the music. I guess you could call it ambient noise rather than a full on score, but damn it delivers. The music is constantly building and building, almost always something going on in terms of sound. If its not the sounds of planes flying by or bomb blasts, its the constantly building soundtrack that perpetuates what's going on onscreen even more. The music is truly an integral part of the film, almost like a character in and of itself. It constantly keeps everything on edge, like at any moment they could be attacked, and it works perfectly. This was the kind of moment to moment dread that I was missing from other war films. The acting was generally pretty good, although none of the performances were that memorable, partly because the characters themselves aren't developed. This is clearly intentional, but it just didn't make any of the actors stand out. They still all played their parts very well. Dunkirk is a special film. It throws a lot of Christopher Nolan-isms out the window in favor of something that doesn't waste any time with plodding backstory or unnecessary exposition. It stands out in the vast field of other war films due to the fact that it dares to be different and a little more experimental. Not everyone will love it, but the gorgeous visuals, god-tier sound design and music, and the overall scope of the narrative is absolutely something to be applauded. I can't wait to see it again.