Dunkirk

Dunkirk Plot Summary

In 1940 during World War 2, thousands of Allied soldiers comprising of British and French troops, are stranded on Dunkirk - a French beach, and surrounded by Nazi Germans on land, sea, and air. They await evacuation while being picked off on all sides.

The story follows three narratives

The Mole - One Week

A British soldier, Tommy (Fionn Whitehead), is scavenging the abandoned streets of Dunkirk when he comes under German fire and barely manages to escape to the Allied perimeter on the beach. Here he sees another soldier burying someone, presumably a soldier as well and proceeds to help him. The two then join the long lines of soldiers waiting to be ferried off. An air raid bombs the beach and a number of soldiers are killed. However, Tommy and his new acquaintance Gibson (Aneurin Barnard), manage to survive. They see an opportunity to board a ship about to depart the Mole, by taking an injured soldier to jump the long queue. Although they make it to the boat, only the injured soldier is allowed to board. Gibson and Tommy manage to hide under the mole where they wait for the next ship. It arrives shortly, but only to be bombed. Tommy and Gibson manage to rescue a soldier - Alex (Harry Styles). Two Naval officers - Commander Bolton (Kenneth Branagh) and Colonel Winnant (James D'Arcy) assess the situation on the beach, and discuss the Royal Navy's decision to use smaller civilian boats to ferry the soldiers safely across to British shores.

Tommy, Gibson, and Alex manage to sneak on to another departing boat which is eventually sunk by a torpedo. Gibson manages to save both Tommy and Alex in time and they make it to shore. The three of them come across a group of Scottish soldiers and join them. They find an abandoned fishing trawler and seek refuge away from German troops, hoping for the tide to come and take them away. However, the boat is used as target practice by the Germans and all the bullet holes make it difficult for the vessel to stay afloat once the tide rises. The ship needs to get rid of extra weight to make it out to sea. Alex accuses Gibson of being a German spy as he's awkwardly silent till this point, and urges him to get off. A skirmish ensues as Tommy defends Gibson, reminding Alex that he saved their lives earlier. But Gibson reveals himself to be a French soldier who took the British uniform from the dead soldier he had buried before. The boat begins to sink as the soldiers rescue themselves but Gibson gets stuck in a chain and drowns.

The Sea - One Day

The Royal Navy begins taking over private boats in an effort to rescue the soldiers across the channel. Mr. Dawson (Mark Rylance) chooses to take his own ship with his son Peter (Tom Glyne-Carney) instead of allowing naval officers to take charge. Their young helper George (Barry Keoghan) assures Mr. Dawson that he can be of good use to them and joins them as well. On the way, they see three Spitfire fighters flying overhead.

Not long after, their little boat comes across a sunken British vessel with a shell-shocked soldier (Cillian Murphy) and take him aboard. He is too rattled to even give them his name. But he eventually realizes they're sailing away from British shores and asks Mr. Dawson where they are headed. Upon hearing they're going back to Dunkirk, the soldier loses whatever composure he has left, and tries to take control of the boat from Mr. Dawson. A struggle ensues which leads to George falling to the bottom of the boat and hitting his head. George gradually starts to lose his sight but Mr. Dawson decides that they have come too far to turn back and seek help for him.

The Air - One Hour

Three Spitfire pilots fly over the sea to provide air support to the troops. Pilots Farrier (Tom Hardy), Collins (Jack Lowden) and their squadron leader engage German fighter planes. One of the Germans shoots down the squadron leader, leaving Farrier and Collins to fend for themselves. Farrier's fuel gauge is broken in the dogfight, so he does his best to preserve fuel and take the enemy down. Collins' plane is shot down and crashes into the sea. He's unable to exit the cockpit as water begins pouring. However, as he's about to give up, Mr. Dawson's boat manages to find his plane in the water. Peter breaks open the cockpit, drags him out and the Dawsons bring Collins onboard.

At this point, the three narratives begin to overlap with each other.

More private British boats show up on the waters to rescue the soldiers. Tommy, Alex and the soldiers spot a minesweeper and head toward it until it is hit by one of the German bombers. Oil spills into the water and the soldiers swimming are covered in it. It gets ignited and several soldiers are burned alive. Farrier manages to shoot down the bomber as he runs out of fuel. Mr. Dawson pulls Tommy, Alex, and a few other men onto his boat. Alex finds out George is dead and informs the Dawsons. The shell-shocked soldier asks Peter if George will be okay. In order to protect him, Peter lies and says he is. Farrier lands his plane by the shore and sets it on fire but is soon captured by German soldiers. Following the rescue, the Dawsons return home and Peter takes a picture of George to the local newspaper so that the boy is remembered as a hero. Back in Dunkirk, Bolton and Winnant note that over 300,000 men were rescued after planning to save only 30,000. Bolton chooses to stay behind to make sure the French can also be evacuated.

Tommy, Alex and the British soldiers are sent back to Britain on a train but Alex is afraid to go home. He thinks they will be met with disdain for their failure to win the war. He sees a newspaper with a message from Winston Churchill and asks Tommy to read it. Tommy reads Churchill's statement which mentions the bravery and efforts of the soldiers, as a man approaches the window and hands them beers. Civilians welcome the soldiers back with applause.