Dunkirk (war)

Dunkirk was released in 2017 by Warner Bros, and it has since won 12 awards, this could be due to their A-list cast including: Harry Styles, Cillian Murphy, Fionn Whitehead, and Tom Hardy, or additionally because Christopher Nolan directed it. Warner Brothers had a budget of between $100 to $150 million although they made over $526 million at the box office. 

War films are often perceived as mellow and dark with lots of deaths and explosions. The opening sequence to Dunkirk adheres to the war genre, as it does indeed include lots of deaths and explosions. The first shot shows German propaganda being released in the air amongst British soldiers, this event did actually occur; in hopes that the British troops' morale would be weakened. The use of factual information alongside added fictional stories creates a realistic story that engages the audience whilst enlightening them to historical facts.

Director, Christopher Nolan put extensive research into making the costumes and props as realistic as possible, the use of accurate costumes not only highlights the time period it also reiterates the genre, showing clearly that the film is going to be about war, specifically the British troops in the Second World War. Furthermore, the use of location, as well as set building, highlights the genre of war, the use of the barracks and defences highlights the war genre, making the sets more representative of the time, helping the audience gain a more realistic perspective.

The opening scene encapsulates the audience through the use of action as well as drama, the use of pleonastic gunshots within the action sequence grasps the audience's attention as we’re fearful as to what's going to happen next, this is shown through a tracking shot followed by a mid-shot of the only survivor, the fact that he's the only survivor suggests that he's going to be the protagonist, although he appears to be extremely young and ill-prepared suggesting he most probably won't survive, as he didn't even know how to load a gun. The tone is set to be sombre yet serious, it's set in Dunkirk during the second world war. I presume the narrative of the film will probably surround the journey of the potential ‘protagonist’ and how he copes with the events he will face in the war. 

The final shot in the scene is a mid-shot, which shows the ‘protagonist’ looking out at onto the beach, this shot puts him into perspective whereby he’ll be known ‘just as a number’ as thousands of soldiers are lined up on the be

ach, later this would be called “the Dunkirk evacuation”, the use of the panning shot highlights his lack of significance in comparison to the thousands of others as they all wait for refuge. Additionally, the beach location used is the actual Dunkirk beach where the evacuation took place.

Dunkirk's opening scene is good at establishing the war genre. The balance of action, as well as dialogue, helps to play on the audience's heartstrings, as despite our pre-established judgment that there definitely will be lots of death, we don't want to see the innocent men die. Many people would have prior knowledge of the events that will be covered in the film, therefore the importance of portraying the film in a realistic, war tone is incredibly important.