Every decade, comes a new face to the realm of cinema, which challenges all predisposed norms, and introduces a new experience to an audience, a group that started as niche fans that eventually grew into a massive following, a following of a visionary.

Christopher Nolan has become a household name in cinema, specifically brainy cinema, as I call it. It’s a type of cinema experience that stimulates one’s mind and soul, transcending mere frames, edited with soundtrack overlapped on it, into a science in itself and an existential storytelling that makes the eyes shine with awe, it’s a type of movies that stand the test of time because of the whole package and also the central idea of it would most likely still be debated in a scholar setting in the future and inspire aspiring directors.

I must note that in this essay, I am clearly bias, because Christopher NOLAN is an idol for me and my favorite neo-noir director of all-time, not only his stories and theories regarding the human condition are mind blowing, he also truly believes in his audience, not afraid to give them philosophical dilemmas for them to solve by themselves, the audience is smart in the eyes of Christopher Nolan and the least he could give them is an immersive experience for them to remember.

(Disclaimer : I will only be talking about original screenplays and ideas by the Nolan brothers, so Insomnia and The Prestige will not be part of it, although they are both great movies)

Nolan’s first feature film is titled FOLLOWING, a story of a writer who follows random strangers, in search of inspirational material to use in his writings, yet he found himself sunk into a dangerous underworld because of his curiosity, it was a movie that went under the radar because it was done with a small budget, yet it was a great psychological work of art and the spark that initiated the whole adventure of filmmaking for Chris, and never failing to impress us, his next movie would indeed, enter history.

MEMENTO is a story of a man suffering from anterograde amnesia searching for the murderer of his wife, unable to remember anything and retain memories since the murder, he copes by taking photos of events, writing them or tattooing them on his skin, but the people who surround him are not what they seem.

This movie was a collaborative storyline with his brother: Jonathan Nolan, inspired by the latter’s short story ‘Memento Mori’, it introduced a new cinematography: it was shot in reverse, meaning that the ending of the story was the beginning of the movie and vice versa: by using this, Christopher Nolan gives the audience the experience of suffering from amnesia itself, not knowing what truly happened to the protagonist and made it relatable to identify with him at a greater level, it was a psychological ride at its finest and a series of questions of whether the events were genuine or despicably edited in order to deceive the protagonist, it was an unforgettable experience (no pun intended) for the movie goers, it was new, it was intriguing, it was AWEsome.

Memento received recognition from the cinematic and scientific world due to its accurate portrayal of anterograde amnesia.

After the success of Memento, Christopher Nolan was tasked to adapt DC Comics’ BATMAN once more to the big screen, departing from the campy and commercial failure Batman & Robin, a new gritty and deep version was introduced, and thus ‘THE DARK KNIGHT trilogy was born.

Justice, fear and chaos were the central themes of this iteration, Batman (Christian Bale) was no longer a mere comic book –save the day- type of superhero, he endured the burden of being a hero in a chaotic city, of protecting its soul the legacy of his parents and trying to prove that good was the default nature of humans, in contrast, the antagonists of the dark knight were as compelling as the titular hero and the cast was a starfest : Ras Al Gul (Liam Neeson), Jonathan Crane (Cillian Murphy), The Joker (late Heath Ledger), Two-face and Bane (Tom Hardy), the philosophical aspects of the trilogy were thought provoking, inciting us to question our moral ethics and ask ourselves : what would we do in that situation ? What gives us the strength to keep forward and protect our loved ones? What are our limitations? Who are we truly …? The gritty reality of The Dark Knight trilogy was met with critical acclaim earning a posthumous Academy Award for Best supporting actor for late Heath Ledger’s chilling and psychopathic performance of The Joker, which became the best depiction of Gotham’s clown prince of crime to date, it was stunning, … just like the next movie.

*cue battle horns*

INCEPTION is the movie everyone is still talking about, the mind trip that got everyone hooked or wondering what was real and what was a dream, it was a sci-fi heist movie whose storyline took Christopher Nolan 10 years to develop, waiting for the right moment to shoot it, it’s about a group of thieves that infiltrates the target’s dreams in order to steal or implement an idea thus the name ‘inception’.

A dream within a dream within a dream: this complex storytelling explored the corners of the subconscious mind and what repressed memories could inflict upon us on the long term and how crossing the lines of reality and dreams over and over again could damage our perception of reality, but something was real alright : the great debate over the ending : Was he in a dream, or back to reality : a question that even Christopher refused to answer, as he asks the audience to find it themselves, because he wants them to discover the truth by their own efforts, rather than having everything shoved to their faces.

Through INCEPTION, NOLAN gifted us with a journey full of interesting takes and an intrigue that stood on even after the end of the movie. Now that’s a cinematic experience!

Now, I’m going to tell you a story, the story of when I first watched INTERSTELLAR in IMAX Movie Theater.

I grew up fond of sci-fi movies and space operas, I liked the exploration of space beyond our earthly limitations: Star wars, Star trek, 2001: A space odyssey and more, and when Interstellar was first announced, I couldn’t wait, I was super excited for the new Nolan ride, and I wasn’t disappointed

I remember when I was watching it in the movie theater, I went completely silent and focused on the story, a story of how our beloved Earth is dying, and how we are looking for a new home, it wasn’t science fiction per say, it was more of a speculative science, because everything was written under scientific supervision, and all the theories were plausible, I sat in awe witnessing the human potential.

The theory of space-time and gravity were depicted amazingly, it was a scientific research translated into a movie.

But, it felt lonely, I recall the theater being completely swallowed by silence due to the amazing score by Hans ZIMMER: the organ filled soundtrack embodied the loneliness and helplessness of Humanity in space and our place and impending fate in the universe, not to mention the emotional impact of watching Cooper (played by Matthew McConaughey) witnessing the growth of his children from his spaceship as the years pass by, regretting the very moment he decided to quit Earth for new boundaries, it was heartbreaking and a tear jerking moment.

The whole Interstellar experience was a revelation for me, it had set the bar higher for me in term of movie experience, when I got out the theater, I was left in awe, and I swear, I became inspired to write on the spot, my eyes were wide open thanks to a masterpiece.

I will never forget this movie, the ideas of Time, Humanity, Survival and Family spoke to me, as they are my favorite subjects to analyze on a deeper level, and thanks to Christopher Nolan, it anchored my interest in human morality forever.

Last but not least, DUNKIRK came to life once more, retelling the Dunkirk evacuation during World War II of around 300.000 soldiers from the Nazi ambush, it was a hell bound experience for sure, and Chris Nolan pictured it perfectly.

The cinematography was breathtaking as it depicted 3 perspectives: Air, land and sea, with every perspective reshowing what happened in the other ones in real time, it was a smart move, because it had a continuity and a second point of view of each events, emphasizing even more the horror of war and the music helped establish the stress, the danger and the -against the clock- atmosphere of war thanks to the great composer, Hans Zimmer

It felt real in the movie theater, the audience felt the ambush, the gun fire, what the soldiers lived and how hope was lost, how the fate of scared military men went unknown, in front of an empty sea, waiting for a call from home under hostile fire, it sure wasn’t the real thing because it’s an even worse experience, but Nolan managed to craft a great depiction of the tension of being helpless.

Christopher Nolan‘s name is now carved into history forever, because he’s a master of experiences, just like Avatar’s James Cameron, he defied the conventional storytelling by introducing and anchoring new methods, like a non-linear storytelling, a reversal shooting or a tri-perspective POV, he translated philosophical concepts and existential ideas into the mainstream media.

Frequently collaborating with his brother, Jonathan Nolan, he managed to explore the human mind and search for a medium to discover it even further, that said, he helped the audience feel what the characters felt, and dwell into their own questions through the big lens.

It was high time to introduce a new wave to cinema.

It was high time to treat the audience differently

It was indeed high time, for science to become art.