Editor's note: This is the first review published by the Creston News Advertiser staff. The staff of the CNA will periodically be reviewing books, movies and music on the opinion page.
From the opening scene placing you on a street in Dunkirk, France, “Dunkirk” firmly plants you on the edge of your seat, white-knuckling until the final credits scroll across the screen after 106 minutes of action.
The opening scene transports viewers onto that Dunkirk street with German propaganda fliers falling from the sky like snowflakes, warning the British and French troops to surrender. Within seconds, the mad dash is on as five soldiers sprint for a wall while gunfire picks them off one at a time – with only one safely scaling the wall to (temporary) safety.
This is the story of one of the Allied forces’ greatest victories of World War II – an event unfamiliar to many Americans.
It’s a story that needs little added dramatization. After German forces advanced across much of Europe, more than 330,00 British and French troops were evacuated from the beaches of Dunkirk back to Britain.
That was easier said than done, though. As the characters in the film noted, home was “so close we can almost see it.” But with Nazi Luftwaffe (air force) controlling the skies and U-boats patrolling the seas, British forces had already lost numerous ships and couldn’t afford the loss of any more.
The film highlights this in one of three different timelines, following one private boat traveling across the English Channel toward Dunkirk. It was an envoy of private boats that ultimately aided the evacuation of the troops.
Seeing the film in 70 mm IMAX film the way director Christopher Nolan intended is an experience in itself.
The visuals are striking, and Nolan is able make the viewer feel as though he or she is right on the beach as bombs dropped from Luftwaffe aircraft explode all around. The various aerial dogfight scenes are one of the film’s real strengths.
There is no real blood and gore as many would expect from a war movie.
The one frustrating part of the film is the sometimes confusing jumping from one timeline to another. If the viewer can get past those jumps, then the film is sure to be a pleasure to anyone who enjoys visual masterpieces.
For the strong visuals and its ability to make the viewer feel as though he or she is there, Nolan’s “Dunkirk” receives five stars.