By Hipolito Navarrete, Managing Editor/Publisher
Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk” is a fully encompassing emotional experience. Every aspect of the film can tell the story on its own. Nolan has created a momentous experience that will resonate for the time we live in.
“Dunkirk” exposes us to another side to the action genre that seems to keep focused on the antics of one person and his ability to save the world, this film shows us the triumph of all answering the call to be responsive to the needs of those in need. “Dunkirk” also brings a sensory experience that allows the viewer to connect to the consequences of hate. The film focuses on the experience of several characters that are active participants on the rescue of over 330,000 British, French and Belgian troops during “Operation Dynamo.” The British troops were urgently needed in Britain to protect the country from a Nazi invasion. With the support and rally of more than 1,000 private boats and ferries to support the evacuation, this miracle was possible. Had this “miracle” not happened, Europe would have fallen to the Nazi regime.
The message of the film is not simple, it is a sophisticated and complex. At the lowest moments, there will surface those that keep hope alive, those that will take the necessary actions to protect those that need protection, to reach to the depths of our humanity and push through the fear and confusion that crisis brings to our door step daily. There are many other elements to this story; there were people skilled to undertake this type of challenge, these were people who were at risk of losing their freedom, of being stomped upon by a regime filled with hate, vengeance and cruelty. Although there is beauty to portraying the private boats as a big part of the actual evacuation, their impacts was really made in the hearts and minds of those combatants that were rescued, this memory and feeling fueled their consequential spirit in fighting for those that risked their lives for them during the Battle for Britain and throughout the rest of the war.
There is so much to learn from this film as we have forgotten much. The lesson of World War II is one of a contingent of angry people that wanted to take revenge on the world so much that they accepted and supported a hateful group with specific human targets, the carnage that followed is frightening and although we survived that human made disaster, we will very likely not survive another. This film is a must see for reasons that are much more than it being fantastic storytelling. It also has a style that feels very close to what virtual reality may look like in film.
