Commander Bolton in Dunkirk
Dunkirk is one of our favorite movies based on true stories, and one of the most inspiring. It mentions several real-life military officers, but the leader who is most often seen on screen — Kenneth Branaugh’s Commander Bolton (above), is a composite character.
Dunkirk writer-director Christopher Nolan explained that he used composite characters because he wanted to tell the story of a crucial moment in World War II, not to focus on individual stories.
“We have fictional characters with fictional names; we’re not trying to tell anyone’s story here,” he told USA Today. “But the bigger movements portrayed are accurate.” He also added that he hoped his film “will inspire people who are interested to look into the stories of the real people who were actually there.”
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