Newsletter (2017-2018) November 2017 Newsletter | Seite 28

named Alex. He meets Tommy in the beginning of the film and from then on, is seen interacting with him
most of the time. My favorite, however, would be 30-year-old Welsh actor Aneurin Barnard, who plays
Gibson. When meeting Tommy, Gibson helps take a wounded woman onto the boat so as to assist a fellow
English soldier out. Although his character seems to have extremely little dialogue, to me, his features and
acting spoke out the most. This is also because of a secret that he does not wish to reveal to other soldiers,
and I think through his distinctive and timid facial expressions, he did a fantastic job portraying a very
reserved soldier. Other excellent actors in the film also include Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh,
Barry Keoghan, Cillian Murphy and Jack Lowden.
A very interesting aspect of the film is how the characters’ names are rarely said during the film. This adds to
the effect of how the characters are arguably not supposed to have any distinct personalities, since the film is
partly about a group of soldiers who fought hard for their fellow countrymen and collectively hold the same
goal— to arrive home safely as soon as possible. 
One of the notable elements in the film is the different timelines from which three stories are being told;
specifically, on land, sea and air. On land, hundreds and thousands of British and French soldiers are sitting
and waiting on the French coast of Dunkirk for help from British civilian ships and boats to bring them back
safely to England. While this is happening, German planes are in the air, bombing the ground from time to
time while two British spitfire pilots are trying to destroy them and protect the ground soldiers as much as
possible. The longer the soldiers are on the ground, the more unlikely they are to survive, which just adds to
the anxiety of the whole situation. Nevertheless, going aboard ships on sea does not guarantee survival for
the soldiers as their chances are certainly wearing thin as time passes. This is due to the risks of being
bombed and destroyed by German planes at any second if they don’t arrive at their destination on time.
Because three stories are being told, viewers can really get a sense of how intense and distressed the soldiers
and everyone else affected by the war are feeling—it is not just one hard battle for a group of soldiers but for
everyone else, too, including the civilians on sea trying to make their way to their fellow countrymen, as well
as the pilots of the spitfire aircraft. They can never be sure what the final outcome is going to be. These
separate stories are constantly shown in-depth on screen where the emphasis is not necessarily on the
bloodshed or violence of war, but more so on the struggles and feelings of the soldiers. This really gives a
whole other perspective about the repercussions of war. Nolan does this through many close-up shots of the
soldier’s reactions to the chaos, along with the excellent visuals and suspenseful music that effectively make
up for the lack of dialogue. It had always been Nolan’s intention to portray war in a different way. Compared
to other war films that typically depict war as full of bloodshed and destruction, Dunkirk truly allows you to
empathize with the soldiers and understand each individual character’s struggles more personally, as if you
were actually there desperately praying for your own survival. 
Ella is a student at EdUHK studying
English Education with a minor in
Film and Popular Culture. She loves
books and tea!
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