At just under 105 minutes, Dunkirk is one of Christopher Nolan's shortest films. However, its long-windedness left me feeling weary after watching it.
Despite Nolan's efforts to make the story intense and thrilling, I remained entirely unmoved when the movie finally reached its ending. The incessant loud music which ultimately faded out did not create the desired effect.
Set against the monumental historical backdrop of the Dunkirk evacuation, the film follows the paths of a crew member on an English fishing boat, an English fighter pilot, and a soldier, who are all involved in the operation. At the end of the movie, the fishing boat crosses the English Channel to rescue a group of people; the fighter pilot shoots down two enemy aircrafts over Dunkirk before making a forced landing; and soldiers stranded on the coast return to Britain after being successfully rescued by the fishermen.
The story seems thrilling and suspenseful, but why does it fail to evoke any emotions in me?
Flaw 1: Underdeveloped Characters
Dunkirk's most significant flaw is its underdeveloped characters. In the movie, each character's motivations are one-dimensional and remain unchanged throughout the film. Let us take a look at some of the main characters: the pilot in the fighter plane is solely focused on taking down the enemy aircrafts; the soldiers on the beach have a clear objective of surviving at all costs; while the only aim of the captain of the fishing boat is to rescue people . The only character with a complete arc is the captain's son. Initially, he views deserters as cowards but changes his perception after experiencing the horrors of the battlefield (after witnessing an aerial dogfight from the boat). He comes to understand the fear that grips soldiers in the war zone and develops empathy for the evacuating troops.
In contrast, let us examine the character arcs in Steven Spielberg's Saving Private Ryan. From the soldiers' perspective, the audience speculates about Captain Miller's (played by Tom Hanks) identity before he joined the war. They assume he was a cold-blooded and ruthless soldier. However, when they later discover that he was actually an elementary school teacher before the war, Miller's character instantly becomes more vivid.
Meanwhile, Captain Miller's team members are bewildered by their rescue mission before finding Private Ryan. As they go deeper into the battlefield and witness their comrades' deaths, their confusion grows. However, when they finally locate Ryan, his resolve to stay behind and fight with his fellow comrades has a profound impact on Captain Miller and his team. They find hope in Ryan's bravery and their attitude undergoes a transformation as they dedicate themselves entirely to the battlefield.
By comparison, the characters in Dunkirk seem like mere tools/cat's-paws, whose existence serve solely to propel the story forward. This makes it challenging for the audience to resonate with them.
Flaw 2: Disruptions from Background Music
Hans Zimmer's score is a highlight and a drawback of Dunkirk. The film follows three intersecting timelines: one week on the beach, one day on the fishing boat, and one hour in the fighter plane. To create a distinct and intense atmosphere, Zimmer incorporates the ticking sounds of an analogue stopwatch into his music. However, the exceptionally brilliant music also accentuates the simplicity of the storyline, resulting in a significant mismatch.
For instance, there is a scene in the movie where three fighter planes engage in a dogfight. One German plane is shot down, while another British plane sustains damage and is forced to make an emergency landing on the water near the fishing boat, when it later steers towards the plane to conduct rescue operations. From a realistic standpoint, this scene is indeed intense. However, as viewers, we know that in such scenarios in movies, the pilot will undoubtedly be rescued. Thus, the suspense ends the moment the pilot decides to make a forced landing. Nevertheless, the intense music continues, building tension until the pilot is finally rescued.
My thoughts on the movie are as follows: The music creates an impression that the entire world is about to be destroyed, but the story that shows on the screen is only about a group of fishermen rescuing a pilot, who is destined to be saved, without facing any dangers.
Flaw 3: Nolan's Narrative Style
Nolan's deployment of the time manipulation technique in Inception, Interstellar, and Memento is impressive, but feels entirely unnecessary in Dunkirk.
Let us examine Nolan's previous works. In Inception, time manipulation helps the audience understand Cobb's perspective. He immerses himself in his own dream world, and finds it difficult to differentiate dreams from reality. In Interstellar, this technique is used to depict how Cooper and Murph are communicating in different dimensions and time zones (within the black hole versus on Earth respectively). In Memento, Nolan's unique narrative style effectively portrays the protagonist's mental confusion after suffering a brain injury.
However, in Dunkirk, every protagonist is an ordinary individual and has a normal thought process. Therefore, this narrative style serves no purpose but only makes it more challenging for the audience to comprehend the movie.
Strength: Nolan's Pursuit of Self-Breakthroughs
Despite the abovementioned shortcomings, Dunkirk is still regarded as a masterpiece among all war movies. You would have gathered that I am a fan of Nolan if you have read my previous articles, so I have high expectations for this film. This explains made my disappointment in it. If Dunkirk were directed by some other director, I might rate it an A, but since it is Nolan's work, I will give it a B.
I can sense Nolan's ambitious attempt to break away from his previous style in Dunkirk. This marks his first endeavour in the field of historical movies, andsignificant breakthrough in film technology that was used to reduce dialogue and enhance visual storytelling.
Nolan's previous works heavily relied on dialogues, particularly in Inception and Interstellar, where dialogues play a crucial role in explaining the stories. Without the dialogues, it will be challenging to understand the plots. However, the amount of dialogues is significantly reduced in Dunkirk, and much of the narrative is conveyed through actions. For example, in the film's opening scene, a soldier runs through the remains of the city to the beach and realizes that ordinary soldiers will not be prioritized for evacuation. He then attempts to disguise himself as a medic to escape with the wounded. During this entire eight-minute sequence, there is not a single line of dialogue, yet the audience can clearly comprehend what is happening.
With fewer dialogues, visual storytelling becomes more important. Dunkirk stands out from other war movies with its stunning scenes that are rarely seen elsewhere, such as the fear of soldiers in face of bombs, their feeling of helplessness whilebeing trapped and shot at in the beached ships. These emotions are accurately conveyed through the visuals, making the film even more impactful.
Overall, Dunkirk can be considered a disappointing production by Nolan but stops short of being deemed as a failure.
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