Dunkirk And The Survival Quotient
It stepped into the very nature of living creatures on this planet. Nature which is not very far away from us and is currently on the mind of every human being. Survival.
As we reside in our homes, far away from the usual business in the world and the mundane routines we follow, to combat a microscopic organism in the form of a common enemy, I cannot stop thinking about Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. This film, a World War art outing, was very well received on the laptops of film critics as well as at the box office. It wasn’t a usual Nolan film. Yet it was in many ways. Far away from the realms of a superhero saving the world or a subconscious thief going into the multi-layered structure of dreams or even a tale of rivalry between two magicians, Dunkirk stepped into the very nature of living creatures on this planet. Nature, which is not very far away from us and is currently on the mind of every human being. Survival.
I watched the film in 2017 when it released. Most of the memories got blurred in the last three years. Hence, I watched it again, this time, with more compassion. Dunkirk’s premise is simple — During World War II, soldiers from the British Empire, Belgium and France try to evacuate from the town of Dunkirk during an arduous battle with German forces. The triptych structure, however, is much more complex and is borrowed from the arts. But the structure is not the point here (It needs its own article). The point here is the ardent theme in the entire narrative. Although there is unrelenting suspense sustained throughout most of the film, one of the scenes towards the end of the film shines the brightest. A few rescued men pass by the villagers who were generously distributing blankets. One of the distributors, an old blind man, congratulates everyone by saying “Well done, lads!”. One soldier is a bit shocked and believes that they don’t deserve any cheer. He utters “All we did was survive”, to which the wise old man replies “That’s enough”. It was a mere 30-second scene. Also, maybe that’s the reason for its understatedness. I suggest this is the entire thesis of Dunkirk.
A generation growing up amidst the race to the future, binging superhero shows and believing that the lives we live are either about winning or losing, may not gulp this fact about the greyness of human condition. Dunkirk is not a film about the traditional battle victory. The characters in Dunkirk, especially the old man, are ready to believe in the other side of the war. The survival quotient.
I was rather stunned to seek similarities between the World War II evacuation story and the current war against the COVID-19. The pandemic has already shown us the falling economy and the rising rates of unemployment across the globe. It has taken thousands of lives and is continuing to do so. We may end up acquiring renewed ways of socialising with some behavioural changes. But when this war ends, all we need to do is to look at it optimistically and cherish the survival. That’ll be enough.
