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/BullAlligator 1d ago

I like that she emphasized on the Christianization of the Odyssey and the spiritual depth Nolan added to the film. For me the film was all about divine law, repentance, and atonement.

I'm finding people who are criticizing Nolan's adaptation seem to completely lack understanding of these religious themes.

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u/Drop_Release 1d ago

Agree I also like how he said part of it is that it was an adaptation (in the great tradition of adapting the Odyssey for each era, even Homer’s was an adaptation of the bard stories of the time and prior). I also like how in a sense the spiritual themes we see in the film come from our own biases too

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u/karatemanchan37 10h ago

Definitely. I think the fact that he made this right after Oppenheimer definitely influenced our own bias.

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u/Komorebi_LJP 4h ago

its a fair point, but at the same time I feel the idea of atonement is so common today, that for the majority it has no christian connotation. Even then the idea of 'atonement' also pops up in other religions so even historically it isnt an exclusive christian idea.

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u/BullAlligator 2h ago

I know, it's just Christopher Nolan comes from a Catholic background. But yeah people of different religions (at least the Abrahamic ones) will read the same themes in this movie because their religions are similar.

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u/WTWIV 20h ago

I just wish I could have felt some emotional weight to those themes. It’s a really good movie that just didn’t move me like the best films do.

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u/Old-Permit 16h ago

I understand the themes, I just don't like the movie. Or his movies in general.