So this past Friday we finally caught a glimpse of Christopher Nolan's much anticipated next project "Dunkirk". The fact that Nolan has basically been delving into science fiction/fantasy for the better part of, what, 10 years now ("Batman Begins,""The Prestige,""The Dark Knight," "Inception," "The Dark Knight Rises,""Interstellar") makes "Dunkirk" even more intriguing. This is the first time Nolan has dealt with the "war movie" genre and the first movie where he deals with reality since "Insomnia" back in 2002. We all know he's a great technical filmmaker, sometimes his ideas spin out of control, but there always is that fascinating nature with Nolan about how meticulous and precise his craft is. Like Kubrick. Yes, I need to mention Kubrick because, well, I have a theory that Nolan does aspire to be a Kubrickian figure in cinematic history. Right now he has the talent to make something very special. He just needs the right script. Problem is he writes his own. No knock on his writing abilities, but I do find that his directing abilities far exceed his writing.
"Memento," the film that made his name, was a decently written screenplay that relied heavily on its groundbreaking structure. A masterpiece no less, but one, just like many of his others, that feels like Nolan only scratched the surface thematically.
"Memento," the film that made his name, was a decently written screenplay that relied heavily on its groundbreaking structure. A masterpiece no less, but one, just like many of his others, that feels like Nolan only scratched the surface thematically.
As you can tell from this new trailer the only actual footage we see is a navy boat about to get bombed, or will it miss them? That such a slight "teaser" could provoke the grandiose, positive reaction it received on the web is a testament to Nolan and the legion of followers he has. From those couple of seconds there is tension and virtuosity. Nolan is, in fact, a master of suspense, but let's hope that his screenplay for "Dunkirk" is also a game-changer. It is a film about the WWII Dunkirk withdrawal. Another film that tackled the historic event? Joe Wright's "Atonement" which has the legendary one-take that captured soldiers at Dunkirk and the mayhem. Breathtaking.