my night in 70mm

livia treviño
Jul 21, 2017
2 min read

If you're going to see a movie in 70mm for the first time, it should be Dunkirk. Even if you have to settle for IMAX (which shouldn't look like settling), you have to see this film in the format it deserves, here's why: The Picture Dunkirk is single-handedly the most beautiful film I've ever seen. From as far as the fighter jet pilot's aerial view of the beach to as close as being able to count the freckles on an actor's face, this movie is a marvel. If there's anybody we should trust to respect an IMAX camera, it's Christopher Nolan. The Story I'm not a history buff, so I won't hark too much on accuracy of the story line, but the format Nolan used to tell this story is genius. Without giving too much away, he tells three stories, each of them taking place over the course of three different timelines (one hour, one day and one week), but he does them simultaneously, as if they are all happening at the same time. I'll admit when I realized this, I wasn't too thrilled. The thought of different stories at different times happening all together gave me a headache, but somehow, he made it work. Now I'm convinced that was the only way to tell this story. The Ensemble I believe that a great performance isn't just about the big scenes, it's also about the little, intricate moments. In this film, all Tom Hardy had was little moments since Nolan has a proclivity for covering Hardy's beautiful face behind masks. For some reason, I fixated on the eyes of the actors in this film. When I think about the characters, all I see are the tear-filled eyes of Harry Styles, the determination and slight terror in Mark Rylance's and the shame in Cillian Murphy's. Even though this is a movie set in war, Nolan made sure it was solely about people. The Score I don't ever really notice the score of a movie, but I couldn't help but take note of this one. To me, Hans Zimmer equals big, dramatic numbers that are fit for a full orchestra. In "Dunkirk", there is a ticking throughout each of the scenes, as if there is a clock right behind you. The intensity of the movie is held by this ticking. There's an urgency being created by the rhythmic ticking and tocking in the background, reminding you that even if there isn't a clock on the screen, there is a German army closing in faster with each tick. There are endless amounts of things I could say about "Dunkirk" but only one that matters: watch it. If you do end up watching "Dunkirk", let me know by commenting or tweeting me @livia_trevino