Dunkirk is a 2017 historical war thriller film written, directed and produced by Christopher Nolan that depicts the Dunkirk evacuation of World War II from the perspectives of the land, sea and air. It was produced by Nolan and Emma Thomas. Its ensemble cast includes Fionn Whitehead, Tom Glynn-Carney, Jack Lowden, Harry Styles in his film debut, Aneurin Barnard, James D'Arcy, Barry Keoghan, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy, Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy.
Dunkirk portrays the evacuation with little dialogue, as Christopher Nolan sought instead to create suspense through cinematography and music. Filming began in May 2016 in Dunkirk and ended that September in Los Angeles, when post-production began. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema shot the film on IMAX 65 mm and 65 mm large-format film stock. Dunkirk has extensive practical effects. It employed thousands of extras as well as historic boats from the evacuation, and period aeroplanes.
Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures, the film premiered on 13 July 2017 at Odeon Leicester Square in London, and was released in the United Kingdom and United States on 21 July. It grossed $527 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing World War II film until it was surpassed by Nolan's own Oppenheimer in 2023. Dunkirk received praise for its screenplay, direction, editing, musical score, sound design and cinematography; some critics called it Nolan's best work, and one of the greatest war films. The film received various accolades, including eight nominations at the 90th Academy Awards: Best Picture and Best Director (Nolan's first directing Oscar nomination); it went on to win for Best Sound Editing, Best Sound Mixing and Best Film Editing.
In 1940, during the Battle of France, Allied soldiers retreat to Dunkirk after being encircled by German forces. Tommy, a young British soldier, is the sole survivor of a German attack. At the beach, he finds thousands of troops awaiting evacuation and meets Gibson, who is burying a body.
