Visiting the Battlefield Through the Dunkirk Movie Soundtrack

One of the most anxiety-inducing, scaring movie soundtracks I have ever heard happened when I watched Dunkirk. It was the closest I have ever felt like I was going to war without not actually going to war. 

The soundtrack of this movie is all music, and no lyrics. 

This soundtrack begins with The Mole. This song eludes to the beginning of war, and a soldier coming closer into it. Closer to their reality. Something that is dangerous. 

The song includes ticking from a clock, and a mystical chord progression where you can feel your heart beating out of your chest. Now image this in the movie theater with surround sound. It's no wonder that the movie and it's intense soundtrack could cause PTSD and negative memories to rush back, as it did with a Calgary Veteran that survived Dunkirk.

This movie does not have many words in it at all. The music carries it. The viewer gets all it needs without the talking, and all the music, video, and sounds. It truly transports you to the battle of Dunkirk. I could almost say I felt what it was like in the battle of Dunkirk. 

Hans Zimmer is the composer of this soundtrack, and has done work for other movies such as Interstellar and Sherlock Holmes. He uses fierce musical progressions and ticking to induce a sort of "panic" and "anxiety" in the viewer. A perfect example of what Sellnow shares as "intensity patterns" (2009, p. 172)

The scores in this movie also include several paralinguistic cues, where songs go from slow rates of speed to a high rate of speed (as demonstrated in The Mole), and have high pitches or low pitches (Found in The Oil; Find the soundtrack for the movie Dunkirk on Spotify or Apple Music).

Hans Zimmer also throws in a release patterns in the movie soundtrack. Songs may start off intense, but are then simmered out. There are a few songs in this sound track that also have no intensity patterns. These songs usually demonstrate the time of war when the soldiers arrive back home and the war is close to finishing (found in Home and Variation 15). This album is perfect to demonstrate the several elements of songs that Sellnow discusses. 

Combining this soundtrack with the movie, you have yourself a strong virtual experience (Sellnow, 2009). This movie was a way to share with the viewers the tragic, scary, and sad stories of the Dunkirk evacuation, which happened during World War II, where the Germans were fighting against the French and British.

The science behind this soundtrack is fascinating. Vox covers this soundtrack and how the Shepard tones of the songs contribute to the anxiety-ridden experience.


There are also several other articles written by Medium, The Independent, CBC, and Business Insider about this soundtrack. As noted before, the chord progression causes these feelings. We can relate this to the Illusion of Life theory, where the music of this song is doing the emotional work (Sellnow, 2009). Even further, when one watches the movie and has these tough emotions, their feelings are being represented in the distaste for war. This movie makes it more real, and our emotions (at least mine) represent how much war is a bad thing for everyone, and how I would never want this to occur. 

To grasp the concepts that Sellnow demonstrates with a real life example, I recommend watching this movie and deeply listening to the soundtrack. It will truly have you on the edge of your seat. What other movies would you recommend with these concepts? 

Another question to consider: Is this movie too much? Should we try to stay far away from movies that could cause this sort of heightened emotions?  

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