Mesmerizing. Riveting. The viewer is truly drawn to the screen as the movie “Dunkirk” flash various images across the screen: bombings, planes crashing into the water, and soldiers carrying the wounded, trying to get them to departing ships. The theme is, ultimately, survival.
This gripping picture offers up an array of dramatic moments, including a father and son navigating a small ship while dealing with two issues—picking up a shell-shocked soldier who is a bit unstable, and a young 17-year-old boy named George who is there to help, but falls victim to an accident. It becomes evident his life is in danger and there are no hospitals nearby. Some soldiers who help a seriously wounded man onto a departing ship hide below so they won’t have to get off and face possible enemy fire. The movie is based on true events regarding the evacuation of Dunkirk. Other scenes focus on the battles in the sky, with pilots firing at each other, and one pilot running dangerously low on fuel. Will he survive? We find out at the end, which once again affirms the theme of survival when death is all around. When a pilot is down in the water, a young man on his father’s small ship wants to keep going. The father insists on going back because, “Maybe we can help him.” That is a wonderful theme seen more than once in the film.
From the Dove perspective, the movie speaks of heroism and helping one another. The use of strong language is evident in a few scenes as listed in our content section. Cinematically, this film is very well directed, produced, acted, and is, ultimately, an unforgettable film. When a few soldiers begin arriving home, one elderly man says,”Well done,” to a soldier. “All we did is survive,” the soldier responds. “That’s enough,” replies the man. And that is a pretty good outlook on war.
