5 Stars out of 5
Two retreats, or narrow escapes, in wartime stand out in my
mind.
The first was during the Battle of Long Island during the
American Revolutionary War. General George Washington’s army took a drubbing by
British forces in late August 1776. The Americans were surrounded, with their
backs to the East River. The end of Revolution loomed as a very real
possibility. But under the cover of darkness and fog starting on August 29th
and into the next day, the Americans escaped – moving some 9,000 troops, with
supplies and cannons, quietly across the river to Manhattan. Washington was
among the last to leave. His army was saved, and so was the Revolution.
The second occurred in late May into early June of 1940. It came
to be known as the “Miracle at Dunkirk.” After being beaten and pushed to the
coast by the Germans, the British Expeditionary Force, along with French troops
and some Belgian and Dutch forces, were trapped at the French seaport of
Dunkirk. The British government launched Operation Dynamo, cobbling together a
bizarre collection of vessels, including fishing boats and pleasure craft, in
the hopes of rescuing some 45,000 troops. Instead, 330,000 troops were
evacuated.
This case of snatching survival – the ability to carry on
the fight – from the jaws of defeat is the focus of Christopher Nolan’s “Dunkirk.”
Nolan has written and directed a masterpiece that is sparse in dialogue, rich
in tension, and innovative in its storytelling in terms of perspective, the use
of time, and special effects. It’s also hard to think of another film that has presented
aerial combat in such an intense and realistic manner, thereby generating high
levels of suspense.
But while “Dunkirk” most certainly is an epic; it is more
than that in that Nolan communicates the intensity of war, and how different
men react under such horrors, in an intimate way. With limited screen time, one
is still gripped by the stories of various individuals. Assorted stand-out and
economical performances are served up by Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Tom
Glynn-Carney, Fionn Whitehead, Jack Lowden, and Kenneth Branagh.
The film fittingly closes out with one of the soldiers
reading Winston Churchill’s famous Dunkirk speech from a newspaper: “We shall
go on to the end, we shall fight in France, we shall fight on the seas and
oceans, we shall fight with growing confidence and growing strength in the air,
we shall defend our Island, whatever the cost may be, we shall fight on the
beaches, we shall fight on the landing grounds, we shall fight in the fields
and in the streets, we shall fight in the hills; we shall never surrender, and
even if, which I do not for a moment believe, this Island or a large part of it
were subjugated and starving, then our Empire beyond the seas, armed and
guarded by the British Fleet, would carry on the struggle, until, in God’s good
time, the New World, with all its power and might, steps forth to the rescue
and the liberation of the old.”
Nolan’s “Dunkirk” brings this critical moment in history to
life – this most important retreat or escape – in innovative, respectful and
impressive fashion.
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Ray Keating is the author
of the PASTOR STEPHEN GRANT NOVELS. The latest in the series is WINE INTO WATER.
