Want to hear my first thoughts (and those of Thomas Flight) on Oppenheimer? Be sure to follow our podcast Cinema of Meaning on Nebula, where we are now doing a special series on Nuclear Cinema: nebula.tv/watchcinemaofmeaning Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/lsoo
Nolan is not immune from corporate influence and it's tentacles always squeeze the life out of art. Tenent just sucks. Period. The review didn't have to agonizingly go over some possibility of some small aspect that could salvage a crappy movie. Just because Nolan made a few movies that had some valuable cinematic substance doesn't make him a Fellini. Honestly, Nolan doesn't deserve a multi-video expose with your intellectual interpretations and valuable insights into themes and philosophies that can be extracted from his films. You can always find something good in everything that is bad...and if that is your point, than you have no value as a reviewer, but more as a promoter or salesman. There are hundreds of films and dozens of directors who you could focus on...which makes me question if your motivations are most likely based on click rate potential. You make assumptions that Nolan is some sort of guru and philanthropist whose principal motives are to use art to benefit humanity and provoke thought and consciousness. The truth is that he has the resources to actually make such films, but he opts for blockbuster mentality for financial gain with some dashes of artistic substance to give the giant empty hulk a soul. Dark Knight was an exception and what do you know? After that movie...it went downhill after cashing in and getting the graces of investors. Now it is a matter of if he can buy back from the devil he is sold to. I haven't heard your review, but I already know you will fawn all over Oppenheimer and completely gloss over the propaganda that it is. The narrative has always been that nukes were necessary to end WW2 and blah blah blah. This is a lie as well as annihilating the innocent civilians in two large Japanese cities in order to "save lives of American soldiers". I am sure you will promote the movie by finding some aspect of it that is supposedly valuable and disregard the facts of who is behind all of the wars and these horrible weapons they produce. That is shameful and I think you need to do some introspection since you are now an arm of influence and responsible for your viewers' oftentimes limited ability to discern between reality and fiction. The movie Idiocracy was made for a fraction of any of Nolan's films and it contains exponentially more insight into human existence and it's potential future...and there are no hidden meanings or themes. Nobody is going to watch Oppenheimer and say "Oh, wow, how did we as citizens allow our governments, schools and scientists to expand our plight and slavery?!"...but after Idiocracy the answer to that question is painfully obvious. We were entertained into it and we gobbled it up because it appealed to our senses....not for our nutrition. By promoting a opportunist like Nolan and his investors you are becoming a friend of the entertainment gatekeepers laying waste to the land. Stop eating their table scraps and sustain yourself on the goodness in your own forest. Maybe I am wrong about you and I do want you to succeed with millions of subscribers...but I think your core audience was originally attracted to your authenticity and a search for truth and meaning where it actually exists. As one of those subscribers, I am giving you a pass on this Nolan worship thing because we all need to pay our bills. Meanwhile, I challenge you to review movies that have tangible merit and contain no hidden meaning...like Sound of Freedom. I realize your wheelhouse is digging into cinematic abstracts but your talents would also be remarkable promoting documentaries and documentary-inspired films.
@@blackberrydreamsznice word salad bro. Make your own channel if you've figured it all out to this extent. Also Idiocracy is one of the worst movies I ever watched
I loved this vid btw, it gave really insightful analysis and didn't worship Nolan at all, rather gave pros and cons for each film and idk why anyone would think otherwise unless they didn't watch it
@@blackberrydreamsz thx for this i was baffled to see his last 3 videos after watching oppenheimer, maybe it went south since there's no analysis of it yet here...
Nolan had an underlying problem of scale in Dunkirk which rendered the entire film too shallow for most people to maintain their immersion and suspense of disbelief. Dunkirk is a story of 300,000 men, which is told through what maybe 2,000 actual men on visually empty beaches. I always felt that Nolan had chosen to do this on purpose, but I cannot fathom what he was trying to accomplish with this deliberate reduction (not distillation) in bodies [brushes] used to tell the story.
Murph goes back to the room not because of a hunch. It is because she finally accepts the loss of her father. She was 'angry' at first, because of the lie. Then she meets her brother at dinner, 'the mourning'. The siblings fight because in the absence of a parent/elder, 'the bargaining'. She gives away all of belongings, 'the depression', and finally 'acceptance' in disguised as 'denial' when she goes back to find one last clue but not to find her father, she is past that now, but to save the planet and complete the equation.
I think the "punctuation problem" is one of many of Nolan's tricks to create a sense of discovery when you watch his works multiple times. Hence, make it exciting to do so. He mentions in an interview that his generation of filmmakers realized that their movies would be watched several times. So they had to come up with ways to make them interesting to watch several times.
It's not a trick, but as LSOO describes an issue in his filmmaking process. I noticed the same problem independently while watching Oppenheimer in the theatre. The movie is a rollercoaster of information. Alot of things are passed onto us, but alot of information is omitted, including information we should be able to understand quickly in order to understand the progression of the story. Yet this information simply isn't there, and we are left to make up our own minds, yet the pace of the movie doesn't allow us to think about it. Instead, the movie has moved onto the next shot, with characters talking over our questions, providing new information, as if this small pause didn't matter at all. I also noticed this while watching Dunkirk in IMAX. Some of the boat shots aren't in IMAX. Nolan replied in an interview this is because the cameras didn't fit onto the boat, yet some shots are in IMAX, while others aren't. On the same boat. Seems like a lie on his part, trying to cover him forgetting to cover those shots in IMAX for whatever reason he doesn't want to share with us. Even then, there are many valid solutions to make these cameras fit onto a small boat. This is just a lame excuse for someone being too lazy to make it work and see the project through perfection, coming from a director who portrays to strife for perfection with every project. It becomes even clearer upon second and sometimes even third viewings that although Nolan knows how to create suspense and provide sensational stories, he somehow fails to meet the technical challenges that come with editing, instead focusing on sensation (eg the mayor dying in an explosion so we can have this cool scene of a football player outrunning the field sinking) over content (missing information, shots, wrongly paced cuts, etc.). His best movies are, uncoincidentally, movies that can jump from timeline to timeline because they influence each other, movies that use gratuitous violence to elevate suspense and that have dream logic instead of logic that adheres to the real world like Inception and Tenet. His real world movies have grown incredibly stale, sure Dunkirk has a great opening scene, but the rest of it is just trying to surpass Spielberg, which is still a superior moviemaker to Nolan. And at the end, I felt the same about Oppenheimer. It's Nolan's Lincoln, which is just a downright shame. There are brilliant scenes that show Nolan's greatness, yet he chooses to try and imitate someone else with some of his efforts. He should focus on making up for his own shortcomings, or keep turning them into his forte, and he would be an equally great filmmaker in his own right.
T E N E T is more of a vibe, honestly. “Don’t try to understand it, feel it” (which is obliviously directed at the audience) and it’s not the first time in a movie when a actor says something that is being directed at the audience. Another example being from the movie Looper when Abe tells Joe “All this time travel stuff just will fry your brain” and I think some over looked that because they were too busy saying it was plot holes or the time travel didn’t make sense.
Interstellar has its issues for me, but I still connect with it on a very emotional level and love the massive spectacle that Noaln was able to pull off. Also experiencing it in IMAX really makes any issues leave your brain immediately. That's the only way I've seen it in theaters.
terrific analysis. And, yep, even though I'm a super film nerd, I'm proud to say I think Interstellar is one of the greatest films ever made; profound, exhilarating, and incredibly moving . As it ages, I think people are coming around to this opinion - but we're in an age where earnestness is frowned upon as embarrassing, and talking directly about wonder and love is a social faux pas in art. We'll get by that, though, and films like this will be seen for the genuine, real feeling they represent.
Earnestness is my favourite thing in any medium, but especially films. I love Interstellar with all my heart, it connected with me on so many levels. One of my favourite memories is watching it to my parents - my dad is a science geek and my mum loves stories about human connection, and seeing them both enjoy it so much was really special to me - it's rare they both love a film that much. It's been my favourite film for years now ❤
The problem that most people have with the movie isn't that the solution to the problem was love, that's actually a great message, it's just the way it was executed that leaves a lot to be desired.
Interstellar is one of my favourite films of all time, my personal favourite of Nolan’s. I think it hit me at a very emotionally charged moment in my life and the themes and philosophical questions in it have remained significant to me since. It inspired me to write and to ponder ideas in depth and channel the answers creatively. It means a lot to me.
I cannot wait to see this Oppenheimer. I almost feel the same about a LSofO upload. You have something special. My mother, a casual movie goer, loved Interstellar and it's probably my least favorite Nolan film but after this I am definitely giving it another go. Stories are so human and film is such a beautiful way of telling them and you have a beautiful way of reminding me about how special they are to me. Great work as always friend, thank you.
Agreed. LSofO is not afraid to be “deep”, which a lot of people make fun of.. and some of the time deservedly.. but LSofO achieves deep in a meaningful way that’s also practical and not self-important. Which I appreciate.
Certainly after Tenet, I'm pleased by all the positive hype that Oppenheimer is getting from the interviews I've seen so far on RUclips. Thank you, Tom, for this analysis.
@@Ali-fo4uv I didn’t see Tenet in the beginning. I saw it on the movie channels and found it way too convoluted. But deserving of praise for its visual effects.
I feel like the Tenet chapter was a gross misunderstanding of the characters' motivations and the nuanced spy flick vibes that Nolan intended. The first act (before the Freeport scene) cleverly disguises Tenet as your regular spy film with assists (Neil, Priya & Sir Michael Crosby), a heist (the Mumbai arms dealer break-in) and generally cool spy stuff (assuming a cover identity as a wind turbine technician; fake CIA-issued cyanide pills) to generally immerse the audience before he allows things to go absolutely off the rails. Even with the motivations for breaking into the Freeport, there's such a deep conversation he has with Kat (with a classic Nolan flashback montage interspersed) about her envying the freedom of her future self diving off the boat. In regards to Sator, we obviously know that despite his diabolical deals with the future, he very much wants Kat to wanna be with her and as such, would be willing to both manipulate her into staying before using brute violence to keep her around. The beauty of Tenet is literally right there but people keep entering the experience trying to decipher it so much that they end up closing themselves off to the very real emotionality of the film.
Interstellar is also one of the best IMAX experiences that I've had. Which is interesting because it was the last Nolan film that I truly enjoyed. Both Dunkirk and Tenet just didn't land for me and not being able to hear the dialogue properly was frustrating.
Yeah Dunkirk was not my cup of tea but I could fully appreciate the quality and thought that went into it. Tenet had some interesting elements and SO much potential but then ended up feeling like a 2.5 star marvel movie version of a Nolan film 😂
With regard to your point about people who simply watch Nolan's films once and then are done vs. those of us who pour into the details, watch RUclips videos, discuss on Reddit, rewatch and rewatch, etc., I think we are quite literally witnessing the films of a director that will one day become classics. We don't simply read Hamlet or Moby Dick for the plot. Instead we analyze these stories, we view things through the lens of each character, we come to terms with the allegories and metaphors the author was making, we view the stories within the context of the contemporary times in which they were written (what was the world like, what wars or conflicts were there, what were the societal values of the era, etc.). Only then can we fully appreciate and even understand what these stories are *_really_* about and what kind of thoughts or questions do they leave us with. With all of his movies, but especially his cerebral ones (Memento, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet), you gain something new every single time you watch it. They are so fantastically multilayered. Nolan is such a transcendent artist that it is simply not fair or appropriate to judge these films upon first viewing. I was *_compelled_* to rewatch Oppenheimer after just a few days because it left me with so many questions and existential realizations that it made me go over the film and certain scenes in my head over and over. It's a rare thing for a film to do that to you, for it to stick with you for days. And I have absolutely no doubt at all that 50, 100, 200 years from now, Nolan will be the Shakespeare, the Hitchcock, the Asimov.
I have loved tenet ever since it came out despite not understanding half of it and I have only grown to love it even more. I hope Nolan makes more films like it. It’s bold and a fantastic experience. I’ve had tenet playing on the tv non stop at home for like 2 weeks now as I wait to see Oppenheimer and I just appreciate the heck out of it. The ending when sator is on the phone and talks about being a god and bringing a son into a world that’s ending mixed with Neil’s sacrifice is what does it for me
I'm so glad that you said this. I feel the exact same. I watched TENET during its open weekend and I loved it even though I didn't understand everything after first viewing. As I watched it two more times, I came to realise how truly well done the film is. I regard it as being one of his very best works. An excellent spy sci-fi thriller. The score by Ludwig Göransson is world-class. Nolan is just next level. The film has developed a great cult following. As time passes, more people will acknowledge it as being a cinematic masterpiece. Dare I say, I believe that it might age as well as films like American Psycho, Fight Club and Eyes Wide Shut. Films which were massively underrated upon initial release, but grew to be renowned as masterpieces which will forever be relevant.
@@ofentsesebiloane475 Absolutely. I get the criticisms of it to a degree but to me the story, the actors, atmosphere, visuals, and the SCORE far outweigh whatever downsides there are. I think people expect perfection from Nolan for some weird reason. Neil and TP talk at the end was just the icing on the cake for me. Its perfect. Great comment by the way
There is no other movie that has grown on me like Tenet. Every issue I had with the movie became the strength of the movie as i kept watching it again and again. For example- the lack of character development was a big issue i had after my first viewing. But seeing the movie the 2nd time around, i understood why he chose to cut down on character. There are a lot of risky choices that he made in the film that no other filmmaker would have taken at least on a movie with a $200 million budget. If you look at Nolan movies before Dunkirk, he used to play it safe and didn't take as risky decisions as he takes now. Tenet might not be his best but i definitely enjoy watching tenet more than most of his other films. Also, Nolan could have made the film a bit simpler for the audience by compromising the plot but he didn't. And I really appreciate that. He just went for it. Made it as packed as he could. I have noticed that people who don't understand the movie call it nonsensical and convoluted while those who understand most of it call it complex/complicated.
This was such a good series! I always love when you come out with content, but especially with these last two videos, when I have gotten the notifications, they have brought me much joy and excitement. I love the depth with which you documented and analyzed Nolan's movies - certainly no surprise, given the quality and finesse of your more "regular" work. But I think I just really enjoyed staying with one of my favorite directors through the thoughts and words of one of the most well-spoken people on this platform. I would love to see more even-longer-form stuff like this, if ever you feel so inspired. Thanks for always making quality works, and thank you for always managing to remind me, through excitement or sobriety or tears, the beauty of what it is to be human, and our capacity for creativity and love. Thanks for all you do. :)
I really appreciate your ability to put into words, the depth of human connections from great films. I feel the lessons but cannot verbalize them with clarity. You’re a gifted analytical mind. Excellent. Thank you.
In your Dunkirk segment, you're definitely on to something with the way Nolan edits his movies. Like sometimes, the narrative becomes a little confusing because of how Nolan paces his scenes and shots. I had the same experience for the first half hour or so with Oppenheimer. Upon a rewatch, I understood it better and was able to be immersed. Edit: Just watching the Tenet segment, you're illustrating more points I agree with. 100%, he doesn't linger with his shots to take in the vibes. Everything needs to be in constant motion.
I'll say this almost every time a Nolan review is created on this site. Hans Zimmer is arguably the largest reason these films are able to be so strong. I'm convinced Hans is so good at what he does, often it can cover up the flaws of directors because of the level of emotion brought out, even if a scene is lacking.
You have transcendent observations of film in general and Nolan in particular. 41:33 Well put. Nolan builds in the necessity of multiple viewings, with a goal of deeper overall understanding. 46:25 Yes, a collective hero’s journey. Key point. 1:01:58 Yes, ‘inversion’ started applying to too much. People, cars, wounds, TIMELINE…I can just hear Jenifer Lame sitting with Nolan over Premiere telling him not to worry, if only because she didn’t want to deal with re-shoots. 1:10:59 I like this, uninvent the bomb.
30:00 more specifically, the documentary accounts are the videos playing in the farmhouse-turned-museum. So even better than an abstract human in the future hearing these stories, Copper himself gets to look back on these from the other side of salvation.
Interstellar is my favourite Nolan movie… probably. That or inception. Yea the Batman trilogy was incredible and I love them too. The first being my personal favourite. I love all of his movies
okay, so, I've watched Tenet 6 or more times in focused watches in and out of the theater, and for me it's Nolan's best movie (apart from Dunkirk). I know this is an unusual opinion, but for me, Nolan is not a director who's good at building character. For me, his strength is in the conceptual grounding of his films which pushes the viewer to be thinking heavily as well as responding emotionally/physically. I think it's clear from his ouvre that he's very concerned with how time impacts humanity, specifically even possibly how we began to perceive time at the crux of the contemporary era, where technology forms an intermediary into the social passage of time. Dunkirk plays into this heavily formally, and I think Oppenheimer looks at this narratively. Tenet feels most emotional to me, and plays to the strengths of Nolan as a director without attempting to build strong characters (similar to Dunkirk). I read it as a philosophical exploration into how our relationships, regret, loss of selfhood are impacted by the barrage of time through the spy genre.
Interstellar: A love letter from Nolan to his daughter. Love is the way you can't go wrong, specially when looking a direction for humanity. Dunkirk: How can you not identify with someone who only wants to survive? Tenet: A metaphor about watching movies, inversion is watching a movie again, you know whta's going to happen and yet you feel excited again! Oppenheimer: What are the real consequences of your actions? Great as usual, Tom, thanx!!!
Dude my English teacher would fail you, you can't expect us to grasp gigantic spoken sentences like this: "Interstellar poses a complicated existential issue, because on the one hand, our limited perspectives as individual and mortal human beings put us at risk of not being able to properly address temporal movements that operate beyond our limited perception of time and therefore to act in the best interest of humanity in general, but on the other hand, it seems we cannot truly overcome these limitations either not without putting ourselves at risk of becoming cruel self-delusional and just altogether disconnected from any real sense of humanity." 20:35 Language like this makes your train of thought very hard to follow throughout your video, and ends up feeling like it's going in circles
I was understanding your take on his punctuality until your example with the bank heist in the dark knight, I did not have the same issue in noticing that Gordon was investigating the bank that the joker just robbed...
1:03:07 Thank you. Too busy keeping up with the rules, the order of events, that at least a part of the visceral experience is lost. 1:05:13 Agreed. That small point of improving his dress could have been dealt with an opportunity for Washington to acknowledge it. Like in a mirror. Lovely the way you tied his films together.
excited also for this lengthy video, I enjoy your analysis so much! Going to send it to my husband bc Nolan is his favourite director, he'll love this...we already bought tickets for Oppenheimer in the only IMAX here in Chile, SO EXCITED
Dunkirk is Nolan's most mature film yet (without seeing Oppenheimer). He shows restraint and stripped back to the minimum for cinematic storytelling. Tenet is almost the opposite, in being the most indulgent of his own style. I do admired both though because you can feel that he is still experimenting.
It was a great three part series. It was interesting to learn about the underlying similarities in the style of each Nolan's films and how he progressed as a director. Even though he might have the punctuation problem as described in the video, one might argue that it may be the very thing that makes his movies re-watchable. Almost as if he is aware of this and the punctuation problem is an editorial choice. Leaving out certain parts of information; making jumps in character development; letting the audience do the math and connecting the dots; sounds pretty on brand for Nolan at this point. I always leave the theater with something to think about. That is very rare with movies these days.
Respectfully I vehemently disagree with your takes on tenet. Zoom out and look at his trajectory. I assume the central metaphor to any art is the human brain. In particular, every story is an examination (meditation) between the logical and conceptual sides of the brain. The characters in between are representations of ego. First, inception, 4d, mind. Interstellar, 5d, emotion. Then, tenet, a complete mirror from both directions with instead of a deep character we get an almost video game type, nameless, altruistic protagonist, where are more free to plug ourselves in. Tenet examines the flow state, movement of mind and emotion, so seamlessly on every level. Next, we’ll have Oppenheimer. An examination of an ego (character) who knows and must risk destroying the entire picture. (Reality) Nolan’s own ego perspective with reality as he moves through his meditation as an artist is nearly perfectly, microcosmically reflected in the themes of his movies
This is why the story between kat, the artist, feminine side of the brain, and the rich, powerful, male side of the brain. Since the stakes are so high, these archetypes must be almost caricatures. The solution to this over solidification of ego in each role? A nameless protagonist. The hero on his journey
About the Interstellar mixed reactions by different kinds of public: *be me * study cinema amateurially, watch lots of video analysis content, lots of making of movies contents, read a lot about movie theory, philosophy of cinema and so forth * listen to the difference between casual movie goers saying Interstellar is their favorite movie regardless of the critics * reconsider all the evident flaws of Interstellar in different aspects * look at my desktop (which never changed in the last 5 years) * Desktop being like: - Gargantua and the Endurance - * consider if I overstated the value of the movie * rapidly remember about "Docking scene" being the best scene in the history of cinema period (it's been 9 years and not a single person has presented me with sufficient evidence contradicting this fact) * continue watching the video
Nolan makes movies that are intelligent, engaging and, above all, original. even more improbably, he is able to make massive blockbuster movies that are intelligent, engaging and original. a veritable unicorn. ok, if not unique then definitely in a certain small clutch of standout directors working today. His directorial flaws are ultimately erased by his ambition to show us something we haven't seen before but will stick with us forever once we have. As sophisiticated and experienced viewers it is easy to forget that the movies we first loved, that forged our love of cinema, also had flaws and yet still retained thier power. Nolans ambition and vision brings in a new generation of starry eyed viewers to cinema, and still manages to enthrall us veterans. i will always look forward to a Nolan release as a result
On Tenet: I never saw a climate change message. The future is trying to erase its past for its own survival, but you can't have the future without a past. It resonated with me on the level of our current culture battles over the historical narrative. Some advocate it is progress to deconstruct the ideas of western society...but the ideas of western society built stable civilization--that's our foundation, both for good or ill. If we wipe out those ideas...what foundation could we hope to replace them with? Grandfather paradox.
Over an hour of contemplating, considering, relating, hypothesising, elaborating, some induction here, some conjecture there, some purviews here and synopsis, introspections and retrospection everywhere; some second thoughts, and via time realisations had. Well done. 18:38 The part about sacrificing humanities very essence here. Who is sacrificing humanity again? - nobody is. Really, the only thing you can sacrifice is the attachment of not being able to let go of something you haven't absolute control of. What is humanities essence?
Wonderful analysis. And I feel like it's a shame that the idea that 'love really matters' is so often seen as corny - love does really matter. I'm so glad that Nolan got to capture that truth in a beautiful movie.
I'm so glad you and Thomas F are making things together, I've long thought the two of you, amongst a handful of others, are some of the most thoughtful and introspective creators on RUclips and some of my favorite. Nuclear cinema is exactly what I have been wanting for a long time lol: I'm glad that the imminent arrival of Oppenheimer has people thinking about this subject a little more. Millennials and Gen Z probably don't think about nuclear weapons and existentialism of nuclear capability as much as pre-End of the Cold War generations did. I wish we did tho; nuclear things are an existential knot in humanity's side, in a similar arena to massive things like climate change or capitalism. Perhaps both ultimate threat to life and (possibly, I don't know) solution in some ways to some of the energy crises that we face? Dunno. The idealist in me wishes there were no nukes and we could just throw away all knowledge of nuclear power forever, to get rid of the potential threat. But someone somewhere someday would rediscover it, and the entire problem begins again. How to live in a nuclear reality? Dunno.
Nice choices and selections. For me, that inspiration is Martin Scorsese and if I see his name in a trailer then it'll usually be a great year. Can't wait for Kilers of the Flower Moon and his "deniro as Genovese" movie.
I always felt weird about that scene in Intersteller when Cooper finally gets to see Murph at Cooper's Station right before she dies. It has a weird edit and cuts off at such an emotional moment so fast. That's pretty much my only complaint. Other than that, it's a cinematic masterpiece
I'm sooooo looking forward to seeing Oppenheimer. I'm going on a little holiday and will have to drive almost 500 miles from where I live to one of the few Imax theatres in Canada that will be showing it. I have my tickets for the 25th. :-)
I watch videos like these but I find that it rly depends if I feel that a movie is rly something that i wont mind a breakdown of, for terrible to exceptional reasons. Add to being a sci fi fan to begin with and picky at what i watch and just appreciate when i do rather than criticizing it non stop. Anyway interstellar is def special in my eye S
0:41:25 What you say here is EXACTLY the problem I had with a scene towards the end of "Interstellar". There is this entire cut-together scene, where Cooper sends the data through the watch and his daughter finds it... and then there is this weird "ticking clock" element with Cooper's son who has to deal with the burning field and races back to the house to... "stop his sister" from getting back into her own room? It's such a weird, unnecessary addition (heck... Cooper's son in his entirety is an unnecessary addition, let's be honest here), just a strange additional element that doesn't work thematically, that doesn't add anything narratively, but it's just "there" to give us an additional element to create an artificial punctuation of relief that really isn't needed.
The over- and under- emphasis on characters, especially in your examples of the Batman trilogy, perhaps shows something important after all: In the structures we build, and the people we populate them with, it's very hard to tell which parts, which people, are the ones that end up being important. Humans lack the capacity to accurately oversee the importance of each element in such enormous structures. And when a trilogy is largely about dealing with the corruption of our societal systems this is entirely on-theme. We don't know who to 'bet' on. Not really. And that's a major contributing factor to how the systems we built also fall apart right under our noses.
I hadn't considered Tenet being a Nolan Bond movie. But with that perspective it explains a lot of the distraction I feel took the movie sideways instead of focusing on the cooler concepts and action. Those being, namely, just how much of a focus there is on what I guess can now be a mandatory "Bond girl", except the connection between the Protagonist and her is.. not very compelling. He's a hardened covert operative killer who.. suddenly feels responsible for someone else? The prolonged scenes where he is meant to gain the trust of Andrei and investigate, is a trope straight out of Bond movies now that I think about it. Them going sailing was so jarringly out of nowhere. I get how those elements fit into the story, why those events happen within it. But I never liked how they felt detracting from the more interesting and engaging elements of the movie. Perhaps it would have felt too emotionless without Kat's presence, but I still feel like it felt like two different movies crammed into one. I liked Tenet but I think I would've liked it even more if it had been purely an action movie with cool setpiece.
"it's about a community of heroes:" But then were was the community? In real life, in just one week, 330,000 men cross over that beach. But we see like a couple thousand at most. It was massively underwhelming. On the one hand, Nolan is known for having great spectacle - so it's disappointing in that respect. But on the other, he prefers to use practical - and that's where they skimped. If you're gonna shoot it practically, then you have too hire the extras. Don't have a few randos on the beach. Have a massive mass of men so we know the scale of the heroicism.
@@neilanadams5173 its garbage. nolan superfans try to make meaning out of a jumble of crap when its unwatchable dialogue and terrible character depth/plot
@@Ali-fo4uv so a masterpiece is garbage for Nolan fan boys? Go watch Tenet again and don't try to understand it and be confused and frustrated cause you don't understand it.
Im big into movies and all and follow the whole things like u mentioned at the start with interstellar... but it is for me my favourite 5 movies outright. Surprised to hear there are differing opinions.
I think Tenet was, unbeknownst to Nolan, especially with his view on film as entertainment, supposed to be felt in virtual reality. I think, after watching it a couple times, that's where I'd finally be able to "feel" it
I love Nolan generally, but found Tenet to be confused, gimmicky and ultimately alienating. I didn't find it intriguing enough to try it again after the second viewing. Characters were poorly drawn and even the MacGuffin doesn't really work. Hoping he'll save his reputation with Oppenheimer, and a happy reunification with Cillian Murphy.
Nolan is incredible, one of my favorites still making movies today. Having said that, Dunkirk is just a bad movie. Maybe the fact that I studied history skews my view. I was hoping for A Bridge Too Far. But instead I got Dunkirk.... It simply is not good at capturing what actually happened! Even if you know very well what hapoened, it is bad. If you didn't know what happened, I think you'd get the wrong idea about what Dunkirk actually was. It basically was a movie that would have benefitted from CGI. I really love Nolan's distaste for CGI, but this was not the time. The beach looked like maybe 200 people were there? Not over 100,000. There were thousands of planes attacking at all time. It seemed like some scout planes occasionally strafed the beach. It was too small!
Want to hear my first thoughts (and those of Thomas Flight) on Oppenheimer? Be sure to follow our podcast Cinema of Meaning on Nebula, where we are now doing a special series on Nuclear Cinema: nebula.tv/watchcinemaofmeaning
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Nolan is not immune from corporate influence and it's tentacles always squeeze the life out of art. Tenent just sucks. Period. The review didn't have to agonizingly go over some possibility of some small aspect that could salvage a crappy movie. Just because Nolan made a few movies that had some valuable cinematic substance doesn't make him a Fellini. Honestly, Nolan doesn't deserve a multi-video expose with your intellectual interpretations and valuable insights into themes and philosophies that can be extracted from his films. You can always find something good in everything that is bad...and if that is your point, than you have no value as a reviewer, but more as a promoter or salesman. There are hundreds of films and dozens of directors who you could focus on...which makes me question if your motivations are most likely based on click rate potential.
You make assumptions that Nolan is some sort of guru and philanthropist whose principal motives are to use art to benefit humanity and provoke thought and consciousness. The truth is that he has the resources to actually make such films, but he opts for blockbuster mentality for financial gain with some dashes of artistic substance to give the giant empty hulk a soul. Dark Knight was an exception and what do you know? After that movie...it went downhill after cashing in and getting the graces of investors. Now it is a matter of if he can buy back from the devil he is sold to. I haven't heard your review, but I already know you will fawn all over Oppenheimer and completely gloss over the propaganda that it is. The narrative has always been that nukes were necessary to end WW2 and blah blah blah. This is a lie as well as annihilating the innocent civilians in two large Japanese cities in order to "save lives of American soldiers". I am sure you will promote the movie by finding some aspect of it that is supposedly valuable and disregard the facts of who is behind all of the wars and these horrible weapons they produce. That is shameful and I think you need to do some introspection since you are now an arm of influence and responsible for your viewers' oftentimes limited ability to discern between reality and fiction.
The movie Idiocracy was made for a fraction of any of Nolan's films and it contains exponentially more insight into human existence and it's potential future...and there are no hidden meanings or themes. Nobody is going to watch Oppenheimer and say "Oh, wow, how did we as citizens allow our governments, schools and scientists to expand our plight and slavery?!"...but after Idiocracy the answer to that question is painfully obvious. We were entertained into it and we gobbled it up because it appealed to our senses....not for our nutrition.
By promoting a opportunist like Nolan and his investors you are becoming a friend of the entertainment gatekeepers laying waste to the land. Stop eating their table scraps and sustain yourself on the goodness in your own forest. Maybe I am wrong about you and I do want you to succeed with millions of subscribers...but I think your core audience was originally attracted to your authenticity and a search for truth and meaning where it actually exists. As one of those subscribers, I am giving you a pass on this Nolan worship thing because we all need to pay our bills.
Meanwhile, I challenge you to review movies that have tangible merit and contain no hidden meaning...like Sound of Freedom. I realize your wheelhouse is digging into cinematic abstracts but your talents would also be remarkable promoting documentaries and documentary-inspired films.
@@blackberrydreamsznice word salad bro. Make your own channel if you've figured it all out to this extent. Also Idiocracy is one of the worst movies I ever watched
I loved this vid btw, it gave really insightful analysis and didn't worship Nolan at all, rather gave pros and cons for each film and idk why anyone would think otherwise unless they didn't watch it
@@blackberrydreamsz thx for this i was baffled to see his last 3 videos after watching oppenheimer, maybe it went south since there's no analysis of it yet here...
Nolan had an underlying problem of scale in Dunkirk which rendered the entire film too shallow for most people to maintain their immersion and suspense of disbelief. Dunkirk is a story of 300,000 men, which is told through what maybe 2,000 actual men on visually empty beaches. I always felt that Nolan had chosen to do this on purpose, but I cannot fathom what he was trying to accomplish with this deliberate reduction (not distillation) in bodies [brushes] used to tell the story.
Love is at the root of everything. All learning, all parenting, all relationships. Love or the lack of it.
-Fred Rogers
Murph goes back to the room not because of a hunch. It is because she finally accepts the loss of her father. She was 'angry' at first, because of the lie. Then she meets her brother at dinner, 'the mourning'. The siblings fight because in the absence of a parent/elder, 'the bargaining'. She gives away all of belongings, 'the depression', and finally 'acceptance' in disguised as 'denial' when she goes back to find one last clue but not to find her father, she is past that now, but to save the planet and complete the equation.
love how Christopher Nolan agrees to make a film length music video for Hanz Zimmer compositions.
lol so true 😂😂
I think the "punctuation problem" is one of many of Nolan's tricks to create a sense of discovery when you watch his works multiple times. Hence, make it exciting to do so. He mentions in an interview that his generation of filmmakers realized that their movies would be watched several times. So they had to come up with ways to make them interesting to watch several times.
It's not a trick, but as LSOO describes an issue in his filmmaking process.
I noticed the same problem independently while watching Oppenheimer in the theatre. The movie is a rollercoaster of information. Alot of things are passed onto us, but alot of information is omitted, including information we should be able to understand quickly in order to understand the progression of the story. Yet this information simply isn't there, and we are left to make up our own minds, yet the pace of the movie doesn't allow us to think about it. Instead, the movie has moved onto the next shot, with characters talking over our questions, providing new information, as if this small pause didn't matter at all.
I also noticed this while watching Dunkirk in IMAX. Some of the boat shots aren't in IMAX. Nolan replied in an interview this is because the cameras didn't fit onto the boat, yet some shots are in IMAX, while others aren't. On the same boat. Seems like a lie on his part, trying to cover him forgetting to cover those shots in IMAX for whatever reason he doesn't want to share with us. Even then, there are many valid solutions to make these cameras fit onto a small boat. This is just a lame excuse for someone being too lazy to make it work and see the project through perfection, coming from a director who portrays to strife for perfection with every project.
It becomes even clearer upon second and sometimes even third viewings that although Nolan knows how to create suspense and provide sensational stories, he somehow fails to meet the technical challenges that come with editing, instead focusing on sensation (eg the mayor dying in an explosion so we can have this cool scene of a football player outrunning the field sinking) over content (missing information, shots, wrongly paced cuts, etc.). His best movies are, uncoincidentally, movies that can jump from timeline to timeline because they influence each other, movies that use gratuitous violence to elevate suspense and that have dream logic instead of logic that adheres to the real world like Inception and Tenet. His real world movies have grown incredibly stale, sure Dunkirk has a great opening scene, but the rest of it is just trying to surpass Spielberg, which is still a superior moviemaker to Nolan. And at the end, I felt the same about Oppenheimer. It's Nolan's Lincoln, which is just a downright shame. There are brilliant scenes that show Nolan's greatness, yet he chooses to try and imitate someone else with some of his efforts. He should focus on making up for his own shortcomings, or keep turning them into his forte, and he would be an equally great filmmaker in his own right.
@@DarkAngelEUyou forgot the part where Frodo finds the ring
The docking scene in IMAX is and forever will be the greatest experience I've ever had in a movie theatre.
When that organ hits?!? Cinema
Also when the spaceship is passing by saturn
@@wachox That shot on an IMAX screen knocked me out. Incredible.
Yup I was at he edge of my seat , sweating and breathless
That Zimmer music was making my heart pound
T E N E T is more of a vibe, honestly. “Don’t try to understand it, feel it” (which is obliviously directed at the audience) and it’s not the first time in a movie when a actor says something that is being directed at the audience. Another example being from the movie Looper when Abe tells Joe “All this time travel stuff just will fry your brain” and I think some over looked that because they were too busy saying it was plot holes or the time travel didn’t make sense.
Interstellar has its issues for me, but I still connect with it on a very emotional level and love the massive spectacle that Noaln was able to pull off.
Also experiencing it in IMAX really makes any issues leave your brain immediately. That's the only way I've seen it in theaters.
terrific analysis. And, yep, even though I'm a super film nerd, I'm proud to say I think Interstellar is one of the greatest films ever made; profound, exhilarating, and incredibly moving . As it ages, I think people are coming around to this opinion - but we're in an age where earnestness is frowned upon as embarrassing, and talking directly about wonder and love is a social faux pas in art. We'll get by that, though, and films like this will be seen for the genuine, real feeling they represent.
Agreed whats so bad about doubling down on the ecstasy of love
Earnestness is my favourite thing in any medium, but especially films. I love Interstellar with all my heart, it connected with me on so many levels.
One of my favourite memories is watching it to my parents - my dad is a science geek and my mum loves stories about human connection, and seeing them both enjoy it so much was really special to me - it's rare they both love a film that much.
It's been my favourite film for years now ❤
The problem that most people have with the movie isn't that the solution to the problem was love, that's actually a great message, it's just the way it was executed that leaves a lot to be desired.
Interstellar is one of my favourite films of all time, my personal favourite of Nolan’s. I think it hit me at a very emotionally charged moment in my life and the themes and philosophical questions in it have remained significant to me since. It inspired me to write and to ponder ideas in depth and channel the answers creatively. It means a lot to me.
I cannot wait to see this Oppenheimer. I almost feel the same about a LSofO upload. You have something special. My mother, a casual movie goer, loved Interstellar and it's probably my least favorite Nolan film but after this I am definitely giving it another go. Stories are so human and film is such a beautiful way of telling them and you have a beautiful way of reminding me about how special they are to me. Great work as always friend, thank you.
Agreed. LSofO is not afraid to be “deep”, which a lot of people make fun of.. and some of the time deservedly.. but LSofO achieves deep in a meaningful way that’s also practical and not self-important. Which I appreciate.
Certainly after Tenet, I'm pleased by all the positive hype that Oppenheimer is getting from the interviews I've seen so far on RUclips. Thank you, Tom, for this analysis.
I hope it’s good. How was tenets reception in the beginning
@@Ali-fo4uv I didn’t see Tenet in the beginning. I saw it on the movie channels and found it way too convoluted. But deserving of praise for its visual effects.
I feel like the Tenet chapter was a gross misunderstanding of the characters' motivations and the nuanced spy flick vibes that Nolan intended. The first act (before the Freeport scene) cleverly disguises Tenet as your regular spy film with assists (Neil, Priya & Sir Michael Crosby), a heist (the Mumbai arms dealer break-in) and generally cool spy stuff (assuming a cover identity as a wind turbine technician; fake CIA-issued cyanide pills) to generally immerse the audience before he allows things to go absolutely off the rails. Even with the motivations for breaking into the Freeport, there's such a deep conversation he has with Kat (with a classic Nolan flashback montage interspersed) about her envying the freedom of her future self diving off the boat. In regards to Sator, we obviously know that despite his diabolical deals with the future, he very much wants Kat to wanna be with her and as such, would be willing to both manipulate her into staying before using brute violence to keep her around. The beauty of Tenet is literally right there but people keep entering the experience trying to decipher it so much that they end up closing themselves off to the very real emotionality of the film.
I'll be watching this tonight but just wanted to pop in and say this series of yours is amazing, wonderful work. Thank you so much!
Interstellar is also one of the best IMAX experiences that I've had.
Which is interesting because it was the last Nolan film that I truly enjoyed. Both Dunkirk and Tenet just didn't land for me and not being able to hear the dialogue properly was frustrating.
They were horrible I hope Oppenheimer delivers
Yeah Dunkirk was not my cup of tea but I could fully appreciate the quality and thought that went into it. Tenet had some interesting elements and SO much potential but then ended up feeling like a 2.5 star marvel movie version of a Nolan film 😂
Sadly Oppenheimer is in the league of dunkirk and tenet too. Still waiting for the vintage interstellar inception nolanesque film magic. :(
@@sejwalvishu no it was incredible to me and I have been super critical of him
Yes, that! The mumble dialog in Tenet was a major disappointment.
Well, seeing Oppenheimer tomorrow. With high expectations.
With regard to your point about people who simply watch Nolan's films once and then are done vs. those of us who pour into the details, watch RUclips videos, discuss on Reddit, rewatch and rewatch, etc., I think we are quite literally witnessing the films of a director that will one day become classics. We don't simply read Hamlet or Moby Dick for the plot. Instead we analyze these stories, we view things through the lens of each character, we come to terms with the allegories and metaphors the author was making, we view the stories within the context of the contemporary times in which they were written (what was the world like, what wars or conflicts were there, what were the societal values of the era, etc.). Only then can we fully appreciate and even understand what these stories are *_really_* about and what kind of thoughts or questions do they leave us with. With all of his movies, but especially his cerebral ones (Memento, Inception, Interstellar, Tenet), you gain something new every single time you watch it. They are so fantastically multilayered.
Nolan is such a transcendent artist that it is simply not fair or appropriate to judge these films upon first viewing. I was *_compelled_* to rewatch Oppenheimer after just a few days because it left me with so many questions and existential realizations that it made me go over the film and certain scenes in my head over and over. It's a rare thing for a film to do that to you, for it to stick with you for days. And I have absolutely no doubt at all that 50, 100, 200 years from now, Nolan will be the Shakespeare, the Hitchcock, the Asimov.
I have loved tenet ever since it came out despite not understanding half of it and I have only grown to love it even more. I hope Nolan makes more films like it. It’s bold and a fantastic experience. I’ve had tenet playing on the tv non stop at home for like 2 weeks now as I wait to see Oppenheimer and I just appreciate the heck out of it. The ending when sator is on the phone and talks about being a god and bringing a son into a world that’s ending mixed with Neil’s sacrifice is what does it for me
I'm so glad that you said this. I feel the exact same. I watched TENET during its open weekend and I loved it even though I didn't understand everything after first viewing. As I watched it two more times, I came to realise how truly well done the film is. I regard it as being one of his very best works. An excellent spy sci-fi thriller. The score by Ludwig Göransson is world-class. Nolan is just next level.
The film has developed a great cult following. As time passes, more people will acknowledge it as being a cinematic masterpiece. Dare I say, I believe that it might age as well as films like American Psycho, Fight Club and Eyes Wide Shut. Films which were massively underrated upon initial release, but grew to be renowned as masterpieces which will forever be relevant.
@@ofentsesebiloane475 Absolutely. I get the criticisms of it to a degree but to me the story, the actors, atmosphere, visuals, and the SCORE far outweigh whatever downsides there are. I think people expect perfection from Nolan for some weird reason.
Neil and TP talk at the end was just the icing on the cake for me. Its perfect. Great comment by the way
There is no other movie that has grown on me like Tenet. Every issue I had with the movie became the strength of the movie as i kept watching it again and again. For example- the lack of character development was a big issue i had after my first viewing. But seeing the movie the 2nd time around, i understood why he chose to cut down on character. There are a lot of risky choices that he made in the film that no other filmmaker would have taken at least on a movie with a $200 million budget. If you look at Nolan movies before Dunkirk, he used to play it safe and didn't take as risky decisions as he takes now. Tenet might not be his best but i definitely enjoy watching tenet more than most of his other films. Also, Nolan could have made the film a bit simpler for the audience by compromising the plot but he didn't. And I really appreciate that. He just went for it. Made it as packed as he could. I have noticed that people who don't understand the movie call it nonsensical and convoluted while those who understand most of it call it complex/complicated.
Thank you for covering Interstellar. It's one of my favorite movies of all times indeed.
This was such a good series! I always love when you come out with content, but especially with these last two videos, when I have gotten the notifications, they have brought me much joy and excitement. I love the depth with which you documented and analyzed Nolan's movies - certainly no surprise, given the quality and finesse of your more "regular" work. But I think I just really enjoyed staying with one of my favorite directors through the thoughts and words of one of the most well-spoken people on this platform. I would love to see more even-longer-form stuff like this, if ever you feel so inspired. Thanks for always making quality works, and thank you for always managing to remind me, through excitement or sobriety or tears, the beauty of what it is to be human, and our capacity for creativity and love. Thanks for all you do. :)
I really appreciate your ability to put into words, the depth of human connections from great films. I feel the lessons but cannot verbalize them with clarity. You’re a gifted analytical mind. Excellent. Thank you.
In your Dunkirk segment, you're definitely on to something with the way Nolan edits his movies. Like sometimes, the narrative becomes a little confusing because of how Nolan paces his scenes and shots. I had the same experience for the first half hour or so with Oppenheimer. Upon a rewatch, I understood it better and was able to be immersed.
Edit: Just watching the Tenet segment, you're illustrating more points I agree with. 100%, he doesn't linger with his shots to take in the vibes. Everything needs to be in constant motion.
I'll say this almost every time a Nolan review is created on this site. Hans Zimmer is arguably the largest reason these films are able to be so strong. I'm convinced Hans is so good at what he does, often it can cover up the flaws of directors because of the level of emotion brought out, even if a scene is lacking.
You really love saying "spatial and temporal dimensions". Not surprised you're such a big Nolan fan. :P
You have transcendent observations of film in general and Nolan in particular. 41:33 Well put. Nolan builds in the necessity of multiple viewings, with a goal of deeper overall understanding. 46:25 Yes, a collective hero’s journey. Key point. 1:01:58 Yes, ‘inversion’ started applying to too much. People, cars, wounds, TIMELINE…I can just hear Jenifer Lame sitting with Nolan over Premiere telling him not to worry, if only because she didn’t want to deal with re-shoots. 1:10:59 I like this, uninvent the bomb.
30:00 more specifically, the documentary accounts are the videos playing in the farmhouse-turned-museum. So even better than an abstract human in the future hearing these stories, Copper himself gets to look back on these from the other side of salvation.
Interstellar is my favourite Nolan movie… probably. That or inception. Yea the Batman trilogy was incredible and I love them too. The first being my personal favourite. I love all of his movies
i never realized that interstellar is so different than other nolan (or most of other epic) movies. you said it simple: humanity vs nature
Interstellar is my favourite movie of all time and you made me like it even more, thank you!
okay, so, I've watched Tenet 6 or more times in focused watches in and out of the theater, and for me it's Nolan's best movie (apart from Dunkirk). I know this is an unusual opinion, but for me, Nolan is not a director who's good at building character. For me, his strength is in the conceptual grounding of his films which pushes the viewer to be thinking heavily as well as responding emotionally/physically. I think it's clear from his ouvre that he's very concerned with how time impacts humanity, specifically even possibly how we began to perceive time at the crux of the contemporary era, where technology forms an intermediary into the social passage of time. Dunkirk plays into this heavily formally, and I think Oppenheimer looks at this narratively. Tenet feels most emotional to me, and plays to the strengths of Nolan as a director without attempting to build strong characters (similar to Dunkirk). I read it as a philosophical exploration into how our relationships, regret, loss of selfhood are impacted by the barrage of time through the spy genre.
Interstellar is by far my favourite Nolan movie and certainly one of my favourite movie for the score, visuals and characters, plot holes be damned
This series is so exciting!
Such a great and insightful analysis into Nolan's work. Great job! Thanks!
Interstellar: A love letter from Nolan to his daughter. Love is the way you can't go wrong, specially when looking a direction for humanity.
Dunkirk: How can you not identify with someone who only wants to survive?
Tenet: A metaphor about watching movies, inversion is watching a movie again, you know whta's going to happen and yet you feel excited again!
Oppenheimer: What are the real consequences of your actions?
Great as usual, Tom, thanx!!!
Dude my English teacher would fail you, you can't expect us to grasp gigantic spoken sentences like this:
"Interstellar poses a complicated existential issue, because on the one hand, our limited perspectives as individual and mortal human beings put us at risk of not being able to properly address temporal movements that operate beyond our limited perception of time and therefore to act in the best interest of humanity in general, but on the other hand, it seems we cannot truly overcome these limitations either not without putting ourselves at risk of becoming cruel self-delusional and just altogether disconnected from any real sense of humanity." 20:35
Language like this makes your train of thought very hard to follow throughout your video, and ends up feeling like it's going in circles
I was understanding your take on his punctuality until your example with the bank heist in the dark knight, I did not have the same issue in noticing that Gordon was investigating the bank that the joker just robbed...
I believe Interstellar is one of the greatest films of all time. It is one of my absolute favorites.
Dark Knight trilogy, Inception, Interstellar and Tenet are my favorite Nolan films 😁
you finally said it. the "punctuation problem" is the reason i found his recent 4-5 films "off" for many years...
1h20min?! Let's go then.
1:03:07 Thank you. Too busy keeping up with the rules, the order of events, that at least a part of the visceral experience is lost. 1:05:13 Agreed. That small point of improving his dress could have been dealt with an opportunity for Washington to acknowledge it. Like in a mirror. Lovely the way you tied his films together.
excited also for this lengthy video, I enjoy your analysis so much! Going to send it to my husband bc Nolan is his favourite director, he'll love this...we already bought tickets for Oppenheimer in the only IMAX here in Chile, SO EXCITED
Dunkirk is Nolan's most mature film yet (without seeing Oppenheimer). He shows restraint and stripped back to the minimum for cinematic storytelling. Tenet is almost the opposite, in being the most indulgent of his own style. I do admired both though because you can feel that he is still experimenting.
They are both crap with crap terrible dialogue and story telling
exactly. but i think oppenheimer takes dunkirk spot
Interstellar throughout the years has grown a cult following and is among Nolan top 3 loved movies.
Wow you perfectly captured my experience and challenges with Tenet. Beautifully put
Good job pulling is in with critique and then empathy
It was a great three part series. It was interesting to learn about the underlying similarities in the style of each Nolan's films and how he progressed as a director. Even though he might have the punctuation problem as described in the video, one might argue that it may be the very thing that makes his movies re-watchable. Almost as if he is aware of this and the punctuation problem is an editorial choice.
Leaving out certain parts of information; making jumps in character development; letting the audience do the math and connecting the dots; sounds pretty on brand for Nolan at this point. I always leave the theater with something to think about. That is very rare with movies these days.
Respectfully I vehemently disagree with your takes on tenet. Zoom out and look at his trajectory. I assume the central metaphor to any art is the human brain. In particular, every story is an examination (meditation) between the logical and conceptual sides of the brain. The characters in between are representations of ego. First, inception, 4d, mind.
Interstellar, 5d, emotion.
Then, tenet, a complete mirror from both directions with instead of a deep character we get an almost video game type, nameless, altruistic protagonist, where are more free to plug ourselves in. Tenet examines the flow state, movement of mind and emotion, so seamlessly on every level.
Next, we’ll have Oppenheimer. An examination of an ego (character) who knows and must risk destroying the entire picture. (Reality)
Nolan’s own ego perspective with reality as he moves through his meditation as an artist is nearly perfectly, microcosmically reflected in the themes of his movies
This is why the story between kat, the artist, feminine side of the brain, and the rich, powerful, male side of the brain. Since the stakes are so high, these archetypes must be almost caricatures. The solution to this over solidification of ego in each role? A nameless protagonist. The hero on his journey
About the Interstellar mixed reactions by different kinds of public:
*be me
* study cinema amateurially, watch lots of video analysis content, lots of making of movies contents, read a lot about movie theory, philosophy of cinema and so forth
* listen to the difference between casual movie goers saying Interstellar is their favorite movie regardless of the critics
* reconsider all the evident flaws of Interstellar in different aspects
* look at my desktop (which never changed in the last 5 years)
* Desktop being like: - Gargantua and the Endurance -
* consider if I overstated the value of the movie
* rapidly remember about "Docking scene" being the best scene in the history of cinema period (it's been 9 years and not a single person has presented me with sufficient evidence contradicting this fact)
* continue watching the video
Interstellar is my absolute favourite! And I watch a lot of movies
same
I listened this while working, and as always I absolutely love your videos, this was amazing as usual ❤
Nolan makes movies that are intelligent, engaging and, above all, original. even more improbably, he is able to make massive blockbuster movies that are intelligent, engaging and original. a veritable unicorn. ok, if not unique then definitely in a certain small clutch of standout directors working today. His directorial flaws are ultimately erased by his ambition to show us something we haven't seen before but will stick with us forever once we have. As sophisiticated and experienced viewers it is easy to forget that the movies we first loved, that forged our love of cinema, also had flaws and yet still retained thier power. Nolans ambition and vision brings in a new generation of starry eyed viewers to cinema, and still manages to enthrall us veterans. i will always look forward to a Nolan release as a result
Amazing video!!!! This was well put together and reminded me of why I love cinema
39:10 - random football player? That's Heinz Ward, good sir.
Interstellar is amazing, will always be my favorite movie.
On Tenet: I never saw a climate change message. The future is trying to erase its past for its own survival, but you can't have the future without a past. It resonated with me on the level of our current culture battles over the historical narrative. Some advocate it is progress to deconstruct the ideas of western society...but the ideas of western society built stable civilization--that's our foundation, both for good or ill. If we wipe out those ideas...what foundation could we hope to replace them with? Grandfather paradox.
Over an hour of contemplating, considering, relating, hypothesising, elaborating, some induction here, some conjecture there, some purviews here and synopsis, introspections and retrospection everywhere; some second thoughts, and via time realisations had. Well done.
18:38 The part about sacrificing humanities very essence here. Who is sacrificing humanity again? - nobody is. Really, the only thing you can sacrifice is the attachment of not being able to let go of something you haven't absolute control of.
What is humanities essence?
Wonderful analysis. And I feel like it's a shame that the idea that 'love really matters' is so often seen as corny - love does really matter. I'm so glad that Nolan got to capture that truth in a beautiful movie.
I'm so glad you and Thomas F are making things together, I've long thought the two of you, amongst a handful of others, are some of the most thoughtful and introspective creators on RUclips and some of my favorite. Nuclear cinema is exactly what I have been wanting for a long time lol: I'm glad that the imminent arrival of Oppenheimer has people thinking about this subject a little more. Millennials and Gen Z probably don't think about nuclear weapons and existentialism of nuclear capability as much as pre-End of the Cold War generations did. I wish we did tho; nuclear things are an existential knot in humanity's side, in a similar arena to massive things like climate change or capitalism. Perhaps both ultimate threat to life and (possibly, I don't know) solution in some ways to some of the energy crises that we face? Dunno. The idealist in me wishes there were no nukes and we could just throw away all knowledge of nuclear power forever, to get rid of the potential threat. But someone somewhere someday would rediscover it, and the entire problem begins again. How to live in a nuclear reality? Dunno.
At Dunkirk, Isn't who dies the boaters son's friend ?
It’s always exciting when he drops
Nice choices and selections. For me, that inspiration is Martin Scorsese and if I see his name in a trailer then it'll usually be a great year. Can't wait for Kilers of the Flower Moon and his "deniro as Genovese" movie.
Im so glad that he changed his Cinematographer after The Dark Knight Rises
I always felt weird about that scene in Intersteller when Cooper finally gets to see Murph at Cooper's Station right before she dies. It has a weird edit and cuts off at such an emotional moment so fast. That's pretty much my only complaint. Other than that, it's a cinematic masterpiece
I'm sooooo looking forward to seeing Oppenheimer. I'm going on a little holiday and will have to drive almost 500 miles from where I live to one of the few Imax theatres in Canada that will be showing it. I have my tickets for the 25th. :-)
Wow. I live I'm Ireland. 500 miles in any direction and I'm in the sea. Lol. About 60 miles for me to get to the one Imax screen here.
51:28 - It is part of the Sator Square, thus it had to be included.
Glad I’m not the only one to have the disjointed nature experienced in Dunkirk
If you cant suspend disbelief for inversion then I just dont know what you are doing watching movies.
Inception is probably the best example of this incongruity, between takes
I watch videos like these but I find that it rly depends if I feel that a movie is rly something that i wont mind a breakdown of, for terrible to exceptional reasons. Add to being a sci fi fan to begin with and picky at what i watch and just appreciate when i do rather than criticizing it non stop. Anyway interstellar is def special in my eye
S
Amazing Video, thank you so very much. I have gained a shitload of Insight.
Without this I did not really understand the movies.. rough..
My god...a feature-length youtube video before Oppenheimer....
@53:25 "... reexperiencing the same events backwards" .. meanwhile, the word Tenet is spelled exactly the same backwards.
.
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Interstellar is a modern Divine comedy. “l'amor che move 'l sole e l'altre stelle”
0:41:25
What you say here is EXACTLY the problem I had with a scene towards the end of "Interstellar".
There is this entire cut-together scene, where Cooper sends the data through the watch and his daughter finds it... and then there is this weird "ticking clock" element with Cooper's son who has to deal with the burning field and races back to the house to... "stop his sister" from getting back into her own room?
It's such a weird, unnecessary addition (heck... Cooper's son in his entirety is an unnecessary addition, let's be honest here), just a strange additional element that doesn't work thematically, that doesn't add anything narratively, but it's just "there" to give us an additional element to create an artificial punctuation of relief that really isn't needed.
Looking forward to your take on Oppenheimer. Would you compare the character journey similar to that of Clarence in 'The Fall' by Albert Camus?
The over- and under- emphasis on characters, especially in your examples of the Batman trilogy, perhaps shows something important after all: In the structures we build, and the people we populate them with, it's very hard to tell which parts, which people, are the ones that end up being important. Humans lack the capacity to accurately oversee the importance of each element in such enormous structures. And when a trilogy is largely about dealing with the corruption of our societal systems this is entirely on-theme. We don't know who to 'bet' on. Not really. And that's a major contributing factor to how the systems we built also fall apart right under our noses.
I hadn't considered Tenet being a Nolan Bond movie. But with that perspective it explains a lot of the distraction I feel took the movie sideways instead of focusing on the cooler concepts and action.
Those being, namely, just how much of a focus there is on what I guess can now be a mandatory "Bond girl", except the connection between the Protagonist and her is.. not very compelling. He's a hardened covert operative killer who.. suddenly feels responsible for someone else?
The prolonged scenes where he is meant to gain the trust of Andrei and investigate, is a trope straight out of Bond movies now that I think about it. Them going sailing was so jarringly out of nowhere.
I get how those elements fit into the story, why those events happen within it. But I never liked how they felt detracting from the more interesting and engaging elements of the movie.
Perhaps it would have felt too emotionless without Kat's presence, but I still feel like it felt like two different movies crammed into one.
I liked Tenet but I think I would've liked it even more if it had been purely an action movie with cool setpiece.
Amazing series!
"it's about a community of heroes:" But then were was the community? In real life, in just one week, 330,000 men cross over that beach. But we see like a couple thousand at most. It was massively underwhelming. On the one hand, Nolan is known for having great spectacle - so it's disappointing in that respect. But on the other, he prefers to use practical - and that's where they skimped. If you're gonna shoot it practically, then you have too hire the extras. Don't have a few randos on the beach. Have a massive mass of men so we know the scale of the heroicism.
twelve minutes in and I realized this was a feature length video haha
Gracias!!
The actora and characters in Dumkirk are the best part. The story just didn’t have enough salience
dunkirk is actually my favourite nolan movie. its brevity is what makes the movie great.
It’s a long project to return the largess to the actual people and not the top. Yet the top. Is good at getting all the credit
The boatman was the best part of the movie. They even gave him expositor status
Insightful analysis. I'm confused about the point you're trying to make at 43:10 "the actual cut". What is wrong about that shot I'd like to know?
I think he's saying that the film dranatically cuts from Cooper getting pushed down into the pit to the shot of his son getting his lungs checked.
Thank you for being honest about TENENT. The title works but the movie doesn’t. Super fun, but not lasting
To all movie nerds who don't like Interstellar, get a life!
Tenet is a masterpiece. Silly critiques , not real, vague and idiosyncratic.
It’s garbage
@@Ali-fo4uv Unfortunately to you it is. Which means...
@@neilanadams5173 its garbage. nolan superfans try to make meaning out of a jumble of crap when its unwatchable dialogue and terrible character depth/plot
@@Ali-fo4uv so a masterpiece is garbage for Nolan fan boys? Go watch Tenet again and don't try to understand it and be confused and frustrated cause you don't understand it.
@@neilanadams5173 yes. ur over convoluting it to make urself like it.
Im big into movies and all and follow the whole things like u mentioned at the start with interstellar... but it is for me my favourite 5 movies outright. Surprised to hear there are differing opinions.
12:06 Ahh, classical "trolley problem". On one side: people that are close to you; on the other: the human race.
bro's giving golden lecutures for free
George R.R Martin, Clhoe Zhao, Tarantino,E. Wright...so many autors LOVES Interstellar
I think Tenet was, unbeknownst to Nolan, especially with his view on film as entertainment, supposed to be felt in virtual reality. I think, after watching it a couple times, that's where I'd finally be able to "feel" it
How do you watch in VR? Big screen theater mode? or are you being metaphorical?
I watched Tenet twice and still had to go to RUclips to watch several “Tenet Explained” videos. I never knew who to care about.
Tenet only. Makes sense after the second watch
Tenet is trash so is Dunkirk
But did you watch it in reverse?
😉
@LikeStoriesofOld Do you think if there wasn't a Pandemic, Tenet would have performed well at the box office?
thank you for reminding me to cancel NEBULA
I love Nolan generally, but found Tenet to be confused, gimmicky and ultimately alienating. I didn't find it intriguing enough to try it again after the second viewing. Characters were poorly drawn and even the MacGuffin doesn't really work. Hoping he'll save his reputation with Oppenheimer, and a happy reunification with Cillian Murphy.
Nolan is incredible, one of my favorites still making movies today. Having said that, Dunkirk is just a bad movie. Maybe the fact that I studied history skews my view. I was hoping for A Bridge Too Far. But instead I got Dunkirk....
It simply is not good at capturing what actually happened! Even if you know very well what hapoened, it is bad. If you didn't know what happened, I think you'd get the wrong idea about what Dunkirk actually was. It basically was a movie that would have benefitted from CGI. I really love Nolan's distaste for CGI, but this was not the time. The beach looked like maybe 200 people were there? Not over 100,000. There were thousands of planes attacking at all time. It seemed like some scout planes occasionally strafed the beach. It was too small!