History Film / Dunkirk

* ObligatoryWarCrimeScene: It's one thing to target opposing soldiers and warships, but [[spoiler:dive-bombing and sinking a hospital ship full of wounded people and civilians shows just how precious little the Nazis care about the laws of war.]]

* ShootTheMedicFirst: The first ship we see sunk by the Germans is a hospital ship ferrying away the wounded in an ObligatoryWarCrimeScene. Even before that, Tommy realizes that the Stukas are ''targeting the wounded and the stretcher-bearers''.

The cast includes Creator/FionnWhitehead as BEF soldier Tommy, Music/HarryStyles (in his acting debut) as Argyll & Sutherland Highlanders BEF soldier Alex, Creator/AneurinBarnard as Gibson, Creator/TomHardy as RAF pilot Farrier, Creator/CillianMurphy as a BEF soldier, Creator/KennethBranagh as Royal Navy Commander Bolton, Creator/MarkRylance as Mr. Dawson, and Creator/JamesDArcy as BEF Colonel Winnant. It was filmed on the actual location, [[ShownTheirWork with some actual vessels that were used during the evacuation]].

''Dunkirk'' is a 2017 UsefulNotes/WorldWarII film written and directed by Creator/ChristopherNolan about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunkirk_evacuation Operation Dynamo]] -- the evacuation in late May 1940 of the British Expeditionary Force and remnants of the French First Army by sea with the help of just about [[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Ships_of_Dunkirk any floating vessel]] that could be sent there, as the armies were completely surrounded by [[UsefulNotes/NazisWithGnarlyWeapons German forces]] in the eponymous coastal city of Dunkirk ("Dunkerque" in French) after being completely outmaneuvered in Belgium following a surprise German offensive in Northern France.

** With the need to preserve Britain's fighting force in order to continue the war, the decision is made to leave badly wounded behind (because stretcher cases take up more space), restrict the level of air and naval support, and prioritize the evacuation of British troops over their French allies.

* DueToTheDead: Tommy helps Gibson bury a fellow soldier who died on the beach after a Stuka bombing. Gibson's motives for the burial are actually questionable as he may have been simply [[spoiler:trying to cover up his DeadPersonImpersonation.]]

* NotWorthKilling: Colonel Winnant invokes this, pointing out to Commander Bolton that the German Army aren't bothering to advance their tanks any further towards Dunkirk because it's easier to let the Luftwaffe just pick off the soldiers on the beach, in the colonel's words, like fish in a barrel.

* SpotOfTea: When rescued soldiers are taken aboard "official" ships they're given tea. When they're pulled from the sea by the Little Ships, they're given tea. When a rescued soldier with PTSD is dangerously close to becoming violent he's given... tea. Of course, this is the British we're talking about. And tea ''is'' good for warming up a soldier who's gotten soaked in the ocean.

** Averted. French soldiers are not given much screentime, but the fact that they're [[YouShallNotPass holding ground]] against German soldiers and tanks in and around the city is brought up by Commander Bolton. Several are seen defending a barricade that blocks a street that leads directly to the beach. There ''is'' a squad of French soldiers that are seen trying to evacuate with the British, being yelled at by a British soldier, but it's implied they came from an overrun position.

* TheGhost:
** Germans are noticeably absent from the picture. They aren't even called out by name in the opening title cards and general dialogue, referred to only as "the enemy." (the only time they were referred directly, it was by an angry soldier and even then in the form of the pejorative slang "Jerrys", and the conversation he brings it up in isn't even about them) They are primarily represented in the film by aircraft, unseen U-boats, or shots fired from off-screen. [[spoiler:The only Germans seen are the ones who take Farrier prisoner at the end of the movie when he crash-lands on the beach. Even they have their faces blurred to seem like some supernatural menace.]]
** We never do get to see Winston Churchill, but we do see Tommy read out his famous "We shall fight on the beaches" address.

** Subverted with [[spoiler:"Gibson", the French soldier impersonating a British one. Save for Tommy, the British soldiers inside the Dutch trawler consider him a coward for taking the clothes and identity of a dead soldier, but the truth is, [[NotSoDifferent he's just as desperate to leave the beach as they are]], and British soldiers are embarked in priority over French ones. "Gibson" also heroically saved the group's life the night before when the ship they embarked on was sunk by a torpedo, opening the door as they were trapped inside.]]

* NotSoDifferent: When [[spoiler:Gibson is revealed to be a French soldier who disguised himself as an Englishman to be evacuated, he is accused of being a DirtyCoward by the British -- except by Tommy, who points out that he's only trying to survive, like the rest of them.]]

* ColourCodedForYourConvenience: German Bf-109 fighter aircraft are [[http://www.historyvshollywood.com/reelfaces/dunkirk/lftwf.jpg portrayed as]] having their iconic [[http://www.aircraftaces.com/photos/bf-109-3.jpg yellow painted noses]], whereas in RealLife the paint scheme was only implemented a month after the events of the film. WordOfGod [[https://www.usatoday.com/story/life/movies/2017/07/20/dunkirk-how-historically-accurate-christopher-nolans-wwii-film/493068001/ confirms]] that this error was intentional as to allow audiences to better distinguish the opposing sides' aircraft from one another during the hectic dogfight sequences.

* GenreMashup: While it's still a war film, it's very different to most other entries in the genre, especially compared to other WWII movies. Namely in that only one of the other major characters is in a position to fight the Germans, everyone else is just trying the escape from an [[NothingIsScarier unseen powerful enemy]]. Between the constant atmosphere of fear and the absence of many standard war movie tropes, it's fair to say that the movie is as much a horror film as it a war film. Nolan himself described the film as a "survival" or "suspense" film more than a war film.

* {{Heroic Bystander}}s: Civilians manning the Little Ships. Without their help in the evacuation, a lot more men would've been lost to the Germans. Mr. Dawson and the Dutch trawler captain represent them in the film. The latter not only returns to his vessel after it is beached behind enemy lines, but braves German gunfire to start its engine and guide it into the sea with British troops sheltering inside.

* {{Hypocrite}}: The british soldiers accuse Gibson of being a coward because he's [[spoiler:French, and fled the frond lines]]. This ignores that ''they're'' also trying to escape, and are happy to let the French forces die to protect their retreat.
* IChooseToStay: {{Downplayed}} since its only temporary, but Admiral Bolton chooses to remain behind after the British are evacuated in order to see to the evacuation of the Allied rearguard.

** On a more serious note, the two argue over the differing strategic priorities of their respective services: Winnant and the British Army want to evacuate their forces from France as fast as possible and demand more substantial naval and air support, while Bolton and the Royal Navy (with the RAF too, for the matter) are more concerned with conserving the bulk of their remaining forces for a coming German invasion of Britain. Winnant is especially appalled when Bolton declares to him that only one evacuation ship would be allowed to dock at a time due to heavy losses of ships from Luftwaffe air strikes.
* ImprovisedPlatform: After the main evacuation pier is bombed, British troops resort to driving lorries onto the beaches and parking them in a line facing the sea at low-tide. After the tide rises, these improvised piers allow the beach-stricken troops and the Little Ships to reach one another.
* {{Irony}}: Continuing the film's conception as an "[[GenreBusting anti-]][[WarMovies War Movie]]", out of the named characters with dialogue who die in the film, [[spoiler:none of them are actually directly killed by the Germans onscreen. George [[DeathByFallingOver falls down stairs and hits his head]] and Gibson gets trapped in a sinking ship and drowned.]]

* JumpScare: The opening scene starts with a group of British soldiers walking silently through the empty Dunkirk, looking around the place aimlessly. Then extremely loud gun cracks coming from offscreen starts gunning them down one by one.

* LyingToProtectYourFeelings: When the ''Moonstone'' heads back to Dorset, [[spoiler:the shell shocked soldier asks Peter if George is going to be alright. George is already dead of his head injury, but Peter lies, having taken pity on the man's situation]].

* MistakenForSpies: Gibson is mistaken for a German spy, because he never speaks. [[spoiler:It turns out he's a French soldier who impersonated a dead British soldier so he could be sure to board an evacuation ship -- the British were giving their own men boarding priority.]]

* OnceMoreWithClarity: From Farrier's point of view, we see Collins make his sea landing safely and wave at Farrier as he flies away. Later we see the landing from Collins point of view, revealing that his cockpit windshield is stuck. He's only able to stick his hand out and desperately wave it around as he struggles to escape.

* ShaggyDogStory: [[spoiler: Tommy and Gibson find a wounded soldier on a stretcher left behind by others while a Red Cross ship is about to leave the mole. The two pick him up, struggle through the extremely packed mole and just barely made it on to the Red Cross ship. The two are then told to leave the ship and leave the wounded man on the ship. Just before the ship leaves the beach, a dive-bombing run sinks the ship, forcing everybody to abandon ship and push it off the mole to keep it from sinking in it, leaving the wounded man Tommy and Gibson spent minutes trying to save dead in the waters.]]

** [[spoiler:Farrier makes the last second decision to go back and stop the bomber from strafing the shipwreck survivors in the water, dooming himself to run out of fuel over the beaches... as a result of his actions, instead of a few swimmers being shot, ALL the men in the sea are burned to death by the crashing bomber igniting the oil on the water.]]

* OneDimensionalThinking: When under fire by the Germans in the opening scene, Tommy and his comrades panic and sprint along the street instead of immediately barging into the doors and windows of the buildings they were next to. [[SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome Unsurprisingly]], they are cut down in seconds with Tommy as the SoleSurvivor due to the virtue of climbing over a wooden gate in time.

* OneDimensionalThinking: When under fire by the Germans in the opening scene, Tommy and his comrades panic and sprint along the street instead of immediately barging into the doors and windows of the buildings they were next to. [[RealityEnsues Unsurprisingly]], they are cut down in seconds with Tommy as the SoleSurvivor due to the virtue of climbing over a wooden gate in time.

* MacGyvering: When combat damage to his aircraft's instrument panel disables his fuel gauge, Farrier improvises by using a piece of chalk to write down on the metal surface how many gallons Collins (who he asks via radio) has at the moment, and checking his watch from time to time. [[spoiler:After his remaining wingman is forced to ditch in the Channel, he can't even do that, but it's clear he knows he's going to run out when he chooses to continue combat]].

** [[Spoiler: Farrier makes the last second decision to go back and stop the bomber from strafing the shipwreck survivors in the water, dooming himself to run out of fuel over the beaches... as a result of his actions, instead of a few swimmers being shot, ALL the men in the sea are burned to death by the crashing bomber igniting the oil on the water.

* ActorAllusion: This is not the first time Creator/JackLowden character serves in the [[VideoGame/Battlefield1 British Empire as a soldier.]]

* AbandonShip: Not only does it happen more than once, but it also happens more than once to the same characters. Those who have survived the trauma of one sinking are not eager to go below decks on the next craft. (You can actually hear the scream "Abandon ship!" after the destroyer is torpedoed.

* ArtisticLicenseHistory:
** [[https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2017/jul/26/bloodless-boring-empty-christopher-nolan-dunkirk-left-me-cold This article]] outlined several, including the paucity of [[ChromosomeCasting female characters]], downplaying the role of the naval destroyers in the evacuation (and conversely overstating the importance of the civilian crafts), the limited scale of the film owing to Nolan's preference for PracticalEffects over CGI, and a perceived over-dramatization of the historical record (including a quote from a veteran who was at Dunkirk in 1940: "You had the impression of people standing waiting for a bus. There was no pushing or shoving.").
** The weather was famously calm and still during the evacuation, unlike as depicted in the film (a device to increase the dramatic tension for the pleasure boats and other small craft, according to Nolan).
** The actual use of "the little ships" was to ferry men from the beaches out to the deepwater ships that could not approach without running aground. A single trip as made by the Moonstone would have been an almost criminal waste of resources.
** The film does not depict the town of Dunkirk in the state of destruction it endured during the events. Nor does it show the battle that was raging to protect the beach throughout the evacuation.
** The film seems to leave out that about 100 000 French soldiers were also evacuated at Dunkirk as well before the majority of them were returned to France to join the Vichy French. The British are initially refusing the French's plea at the start, but Churchill did insist the French would be evacuated alongside the British soldiers as the evacuation went on. Similarly, soldiers from India and Africa are also left out, or they are elsewhere.
** The Stukas had their noses painted yellow a month ''after'' Dunkirk.
** The destroyer that gets torpedoed carries designation D36. Since her silhouette conforms to a V-class destroyer, this should be HMS Vivacious, which was indeed involved in Operation Dynamo. While getting the correct V-class destroyer in the movie could count as ShownTheirWork, the fact that she got torpedoed does not.
** In Churchill's speech near the end of the film, the line about "a victory inside this deliverance" is taken out of context so that it implicitly refers to the whole successful evacuation. In truth, the next sentence was, "It was gained by the Air Force," followed by three paragraphs defending the Air Force from those who "saw only the bombers which escaped its protective attack" and presaging their importance in what would become the Battle of Britain.
** Some 1980s buildings and beach pavilions of Dunkirk can be seen behind the dunes.

** [[https://www.theguardian.com/film/filmblog/2017/jul/26/bloodless-boring-empty-christopher-nolan-dunkirk-left-me-cold This article]] outlined several, including the paucity of [[ChromosomeCasting female characters]], downplaying the role of the naval destroyers in the evacuation (and conversely overstating the importance of the civilian crafts), the limited scale of the film owing to Nolan's preference for PracticalEffects over CGI, and a perceived over-dramatisation of the historical record (including a quote from a veteran who was at Dunkirk in 1940: "You had the impression of people standing waiting for a bus. There was no pushing or shoving.").

** The actual use of "the little ships" was to ferry men from the beaches out to the deepwater ships that could not approach without running aground. A single trip as made by the Moonstone would have been an almost criminal waste or resources.

** The weather was not as bad during the period as depicted in the film (a device to increase the dramatic tension for the pleasure boats and other small craft, according to Nolan).
** The film does not depict the town of Dunkirk in the state of destruction it endured during the events. Which the citizens of the town would probably not have appreciated.

* StukaScream: Heard whenever German bombers show up. Justified by them being actual Stukas, which [[TruthInTelevision really did make that noise]]. The effect was caused by a special siren (the Jericho Trumpet) mounted on the fixed landing gear, used for psychological warfare purposes.

** While it is true that some three-hundred-and-thirty thousand were evacuated from Dunkirk, it's easy to forget that a hundred-and-twenty-three thousand of that number were ''French''. Which makes Commander Bolton's [[spoiler:decision to stay to help them evacuate a bit redundant]].

* {{Futureshadowing}}: When the Shivering Soldier tells Alex to “stay calm” as they flail around in the water next to his boat, the latter responds with “Calm?! Wait until you get torpedoed, then tell us to be calm!”. Sure enough, earlier in the film we saw the Shivering Soldier suffering PTSD on top of a torpedoed evacuation boat.

* ActorAllusion: Nolan regular Creator/MichaelCaine is heard giving orders on the radio early on, in reference to his role in ''Film/BattleOfBritain''.

* HelmetsAreHardlyHeroic:
** All of the characters who are infantrymen such as Tommy, Alex, Gibson, and the Shivering Soldier discard their protective headgear, while the Highlanders uniquely go without helmets altogether in favor of their iconic berets. High-ranking officers such as Commander Bolton and Colonel Winnant also wear peaked caps that offer no practical protection.
** Averted with RAF pilots Farrier and Collins, who spent the majority of their screentime with their faces obscured and voices muffled by their flight masks, which are necessary for them to breathe and communicate while flying at high-altitudes. [[spoiler:Both remove their masks during the film's climactic act, where Farrier is captured by the Germans and Collins is shot down and forced to ditch in the Channel]].