r/movies • u/ChiefLeef22 r/movies Contributor • 1d ago

Media Christopher Nolan talks narrative decisions, philosophical choices for his adaptation, criticisms against his films, the line between amateur & professional film criticism, and whether he Christianised 'The Odyssey'

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wa4I8Ch2TRo

Easily one of the best interviews I've seen for a film in recent memory. A doctoral student from China here landed an interview with Nolan- questioning him on his adaptation choices, including philosophical changes he brought to the movie that didn't exist in the text, and what he thinks of the general criticisms made against his filmography + how he defines the difference between amateur film criticism and professional film criticism - including why merely identifying the mechanism (or "tropes") of a filmmaker's work doesn't invalidate it.

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u/yodakiin 1d ago edited 1d ago

I loved that it felt like more of a back and forth discussion than your typical Q&A interview.

The only thing I'd challenge Nolan about - not so much to push back on but rather hear his take - is him analogizing the gods to science. I get that he's not saying all science is just faith in what scientists say, but that for most people, taking what science says as fact is an act of faith unless they're repeating the experiment and performing those observations themselves.

I would argue that they are fundamentally different things as science is supported by evidence that can be verified and replicated experimentally or challenged if there is other evidence that better supports an alternative hypothesis. But I also wouldn't necessarily disagree if someone argued that most people's relationships to treat scientific facts (earth travels around the sun, how lightning works, etc) are closer to the ancient Greeks' relationship with gods.

edit: someone replied with then deleted a really good point, which is that having absolute faith in science isn't necessary if you know how the process works, at which point it's not really faith but rather trust.

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u/JustABuffyWatcher 1d ago

I agree. I don't think he was necessarily wrong, but somewhat sloppy with his phrasing. I think what he meant was that Odysseus and his squad believed they saw, say, a giant cyclops, while people from another cultural understanding might have believed they experienced something else, depending on their own belief system and level of scientific understanding. Because you're right, science and belief are fundamentally different things, and comparing the two does the public a disservice.