By: Anton Massopust III

“You can almost see it from here – home!”

Director Christopher Nolan gives us a new World War II masterpiece by weaving the stories of the story of Dunkirk into a magnificent tapestry covering the points of view from the land, sea, and air.

For those of you who are not familiar with this point in history, Dunkirk was the evacuation of the British and French armies as the Nazis began to close in. Time is not on their side. At the end, Axis Forces pushed the Allies to the Sea.

We start with a young British soldier who was just trying to find his way to a ship so that he can escape back to England. He finds another young man and they grab a stretcher and put a wounded man on it to get onto a medical ship. The ship is bombed and it sinks. He swims back to Dunkirk Beach and attempts to leave again.

In “Dunkirk,” we see the ships and how they’re harassed by German U-boats and German bombers and how the pilots risk life and limb to save the evacuating troops.

In this movie, we get different points of view (air, land, and sea). A call went out to British civilians who owned boats to risk their lives to go to Dunkirk to pluck survivors from the sea. Each of these stories are woven together in a rich tapestry coming together in one focal point. Don’t look for much dialogue here. It’s just groups of men trying to survive in a hostile situation.

The ensemble cast is made up of two stars: Tom Hardy and Kenneth Branagh lead an ensemble cast. The cinematography is incredible. You get the vastness of the sea the endless Beach of Dunkirk along with the sky that seems to have no end. The costumes are authentic including the uniforms ships and planes. I also love the use of music and sound throughout the film. The eerie sound and ticking of a watch signaling time is running out gives you that sense of anxiety and tension. The very low music sounds like the crashing of the sea.

I rank these movies right up there with “Saving Private Ryan” and the “Big Red One.” Dunkirk is a great movie telling the story of heroism, survival, and sacrifice. I’m very glad that they did not include any traditional Hollywood unnecessary plots. They just told the story of Dunkirk of all the different people. Director Christopher Nolan should receive an Oscar nomination (and possibly win) If you want your teenagers to see a great movie about history – they won’t be bored. Take them to see “Dunkirk.” It’s a “must see.”

By: Katherine Massopust

“Dunkirk” is a war story. It shows the utter frustration of Allies Forces stranded at Dunkirk Beach, France during WWII on May 26, 1940 thru June 4, 1940. This evacuation is known as the Miracle at Dunkirk.

Over the course of the film, you see the plight of Allied Forces on land, sea and air. The movie begins with one British Soldier running to the beach only to see thousands of Allied Forces waiting for ships to come. The movie then turns to the sea where British ships are torpedoed and sunk. You then see the civilians who owned boats and came to the Allied Forces rescue. Then the movie turns to the air as Allied Pilots protect the ships and boats evacuating the troops from being sunk.

There isn’t a lot of dialogue in this movie, and there aren’t a lot of Hollywood Stars either. Director Christopher Nolan takes a different and unique approach to storytelling. To me, what stood out the most in “Dunkirk” was the sound. You hear the waves pound the civilian boats and military ships. You hear the bullets piercing the hull of the boats. You hear the torpedoes hit the military ships. You hear the engine and guns on the planes. The Cinematography is excellent. Visually, you see the long Dunkirk Beach. You see what the pilots see as they fly and fight Axis Forces. You feel as if you are there with the soldiers and feel their utter frustration as they try to escape Dunkirk.

To have any excess dialogue in this film would have taken away from the effect that Nolan wanted to achieve. People forget, especially young people what their grandparents and great-grandparents and relatives went through in WWII. This film takes you back to Dunkirk and shows the sacrifices that the soldiers made for our freedom. Every student should see this film. They might learn something.