Christopher Nolan’s next movie will have very little dialogue, based on silent films

Christopher Nolan’s next movie, Dunkirk, will finally be released this year, but don’t expect the same level of dialogue from films like The Prestige, The Dark Knight or even Inception.

In an interview with Premiere Magazine, Nolan said he spent a lot of time studying the way silent films use their environment to tell a story in place of dialogue. He studied specific camera techniques that he could copy and implement in his World War II movie.

“The editing was more complicated because there is little dialogue,” Nolan said. “The empathy for the characters has nothing to do with their story. I did not want to go through the dialogue to tell the story of my characters. The problem is not who they are, who they claim to be, or where they come from.

“The only question I was interested in was: Will they get out of it? Will they be killed by the next bomb while trying to join the mole? Or will they be crushed by a boat crossing?”

Nolan said he studied films like Intolerance, Sunrise: A Song of Two Humans and Greed, drawing inspiration from the different directorial styles. It is interesting that Nolan has decided to curb dialogue in Dunkirk, considering that subpar dialogue is something critics have lambasted the director for in the past. Nolan is known for his breathtaking scenes and the overall striking visuals in general. The removal of dialogue, which assumes Nolan will put more effort in the visuals and capturing the talents of his actors, could be very beneficial for the director.

Dunkirk, which will be told from three different perspectives, will be released on July 21.