A week ago I wrote an email in which I shared my love for music, film, and film music.
And as you might have guessed. I received a few questions about my favorite movies and soundtracks.
Now I must mention that I am an absolute Christopher Nolan fan when it comes to filmmaking and visual storytelling.
As for music. How much of a Twitter bro would I be if I didn’t say Hans Zimmer?
It almost seems cliche as of last. But it’s true.
So whenever Hans Zimmer and Christopher Nolan work together. Oh boy you know I’m going to love whatever comes out.
You might be thinking that I’m going to talk about Inception or Interstellar. And sure those are masterpieces.
Don’t get me started about the introduction of the organ to sci-fi film composing in Interstellar. I can talk about it for hours.
But no.
There’s another literal piece of art that’s way too underappreciated. It should deserve 10x the love it gets now.
And that film is Dunkirk.
From beginning to end it does everything perfectly.
Everything it does "wrong”, according to traditional film writing, it does wrong just right.
Dunkirk is a film that breaks all the rules. It’s not centered on the people in the story. The film doesn’t actually make you care about any of them.
There’s no transformation going on. There’s no internal struggle to overcome. We hop from timeline to timeline and from “protagonist” to “protagonist”.
It’s been long said that if Dunkirk were to be made as a novel it would be one of the worst ever written. It simply doesn’t work as a story.
But that’s the power of film.
Everything about it is carefully crafted to tell you the story of the event. Not the people.
It’s not about emotions, morality, or bravery. It’s about scope.
And most importantly of all. It’s about the fear and horror of it all. That’s what keeps the film interesting.
But here’s the tricky part.
Most of the time. Nothing is actually happening.
So if there’s no story being told about people. And there’s not much happening. How does the film keep you interested? At any point in the film, you’re always on the edge of your seat.
Why?
That’s because of the tension. There might not be something happening. But the film is always implying that disaster is going to strike soon.
Part of it is due to Hans Zimmer’s amazing score and his use of a little trick called a Shepard tone.
The other part of it is Christopher Nolan’s excellent visual storytelling and building of tension in the film.
Tension such as bombs falling in a straight line leading up to the character on screen lying in the sand.
Nothing is happening to our character. He’s simply lying there. But you realize that a bomb might fall on him. Yet it never does.
Or when other characters are swimming in the sea with a layer of oil covering the surface. Nothing much yet is happening. But it’s the possibility of it lighting fire that builds all the tension and makes you cling to your seat.
But. And this is the real kicker. And I say this a lot but it’s true.
There’s another little being used in the film. A trick which without it, all the suspense, and emotions might not be as strong as they are now.
And that’s the fact that the enemy, the Germans, is never shown. They are only over referred to as “the enemy”. An invisible and unknown force. Ready to deliver total destruction at any second.
This works because of how we experience fear.
The biggest fear we have is the fear of the unknown. The unknown is the scariest enemy of them all.
You know something’s coming. But you don’t know what.
Who/what is it? What’s going to happen? How will they strike? When will it occur?
The building tension and unending fear are enough to drive anyone mad.
Imagine if you’d see the Germans on the screen at all times. Imagine if the characters in the film were aware of their every move.
Imagine if the Allies had a respected general that had previous experience with/against the Germans. He’d know how they work, what they would do, when they’d do it, and how to emerge victorious.
Suddenly the whole ordeal doesn’t sound so scary anymore does it?
If you were in that situation you would want that general by your side, wouldn’t you?
Luckily you can. Only in this case the goal isn’t evacuating out of Dunkirk and surviving the Germans. It’s building your creator business and creating a better life for yourself. A life of freedom.
And I’m the commander with previous experience in that battle.
Ask yourself whether you want to live with the permanent fear of not knowing what’s going to happen and how to overcome the obstacles that are heading your way. Or if you’d rather be fighting side-by-side with an experienced general who’s able to help defeat the fear of the unknown and overcome the oncoming obstacles.
Reply to this email if you’d rather stand side-by-side with such a general and we’ll take a look at the enemy you’re battling.