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Christopher Nolan has given away another morsel of information about one of the most hotly anticipated films of 2017, Second World War drama, Dunkirk.
The first teaser for the film is a cryptic one, packed with tension, painting the calm before the storm. There's just one question on everyone's lips - where is Harry Styles?
The last shot of the trailer shows dozens of young men packed into an evacuation boat - but we can't spot the One Direction-star-turned-actor anywhere. He might be there, we don't know. If you have spotted Harry Styles, answers on a postcard please.
It has also been announced that the film will be released on July 21 2017.
Christopher Nolan, known for films such as Inception and The Dark Knight, has a new project up his sleeve: Dunkirk. Nolan has written the film and it will be produced by his wife, Emma Thomas.
What is *Dunkirk *about?
The film is set to tell the story of the Dunkirk evacuation, which is one of the proudest moments of British history. The drama will tell a fictional story that occurred during Operation Dynamo - the British evacuation from the French harbour that saw 330,000 Allied soldiers rescued from detainment.
Background history (don't pretend you don't need it)
The Dunkirk evacuation, code-named Operation Dynamo, was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from the beaches and harbour of Dunkirk, France, between 27 May and 4 June 1940, during World War II.
Allied soldiers had become trapped against the coast on the Franco-Belgium border, with the Germans advancing rapidly towards them. It became clear to the British that the battle was lost and so the Allied military leaders decided the only thing to be done was to get as many troops evacuated as possible. They had little hope of success.
On May 27th a request was placed to civilians to provide all shallow draught vessels be included for the operation. Answering the call were fishing boats, fire ships, paddle steamers, private yachts, and Belgian barges. An even bigger effort took place the next day.
On May 29 a change of fate occurred. The German army stopped its advance on Dunkirk and the panzer divisions were called back. Hitler was sure he could capture the area with the German air force alone, so reduced his men on the ground.
This weakened German side made it possible for the Allies to rescue 30,000 men. The next day over 68,000 troops were evacuated with another 10,000 or so overnight. On 1 June another 65,000 were rescued. In total 338,226 troops were taken back to Dover by around 900 vessels. Churchill referred to the outcome as a "miracle" and the "Dunkirk spirit".
This great victory boosted national pride and led to a great boost to British morale. As you can imagine, there's a lot here to furnish a story full of drama, excitement, and celebration of human character.
Who’s in Dunkirk ?
The film’s cast includes Tom Hardy, Mark Rylance, Kenneth Branagh, Cillian Murphy as well as acting newcomers Harry Styles and Fionn Whitehead, who is relatively unknown.
There has been controversy about the casting of Harry Styles, yet casting director Jon Papsidera - who has overseen casting on six of Nolan's previous films including the Dark Knight trilogy – has jumped to defend his decision. He told The Mirror how Styles went through the same audition process as every other actor and won the role fair and square.
"Harry was absolutely right for the role. As an actor he is unknown, but his readings made him an obvious choice. We thought he was fresh and interesting and he won the role. It wasn’t because he’s a well-known pop star - if anything that was more of a detriment, because it could bring the wrong message and we don’t want people pulled out of the film because of who they are.
"I don’t think he studied acting professionally and yet he won the role against some very well known actors. He read for me, then us collectively in London. He did half a dozen readings, coming back and forth and it was no easy task for him,” said Papsidera.
Filming Dunkirk
For its battle sequences, the filmmaker will be shunning CGI and using a real-life naval destroyer - in particular, the French T-47 Class Destroyer, Maillé-Brézé.
This is not the first time Nolan has decided against CGI. In *Inception *Nolan used a prop: a revolving corridor for the film’s iconic zero-gravity sequence. In Interstellar he mostly used both full-size and miniature models of the Rangers, Landers, and the Endurance spaceships.
“Boot camp at sea” is reportedly a major part of the job, with a source telling The Sun that “producers are trying to make life on board as realistic as possible”. A source commented that Styles is “keen to get stuck in.”
Specs
Tarantino is shooting the movie using 65mm photography (with some sequences using IMAX) for better image quality.
Check out this footage of the filming so far:
*Dunkirk *will be released in July 2017.
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The rising star of Dunkirk: Fionn Whitehead
Everything you need to know about Dunkirk starring Harry Styles
