Plot Dunkirk is a 2017 war film written, co-produced and directed by Christopher Nolan . The film features an ensemble cast , starring Fionn Whitehead , Tom Glynn-Carney , Jack Lowden , Harry Styles , Aneurin Barnard , James D'Arcy , Barry Keoghan , Kenneth Branagh , Cillian Murphy , Mark Rylance and Tom Hardy . Set during the Second World War , it portrays the Dunkirk evacuation . Distributed by Warner Bros. Pictures , the film is an international co-production between the United Kingdom, the United States, France and the Netherlands. Nolan wrote the script, told from three perspectives —the land, sea and air—to contain little dialogue and yield suspense through the visuals and music. Filming began in May 2016 in Dunkirk , France, and ended in Los Angeles , where it also began post-production. Cinematographer Hoyte van Hoyte...