Star director Christopher Nolan is known for his complex storytelling in films. Some viewers were left with a huge question mark in the cinema when they saw Tenet in 2020. As the director explained, it is not the purpose of the film for you to understand everything.
During the The Late Night Show with Stephen Colbert on February 8, 2024, the director talked about his film Tenet and also explained why you are not supposed to understand everything in the complex sci-fi film.
Here you can see a trailer for Tenet:
“If you experience my film, then you understand it too”
The host asked the director whether one must understand his films or whether they can simply be experienced. Christopher Nolan responded:
“If you experience my film, then you understand it too.” He then elaborated on what exactly he meant by this statement because it is very important to him that people understand that.
He feels that viewers have often reacted with frustration to his stories in the past. He believes this is because they do not understand the meaning of the films.
Because, in fact, it is not about grasping every tiny detail in his stories; instead, the experience of the film should be at the forefront:
“It is not a puzzle that needs to be solved, but an experience that should be had, preferably in the cinema, but also at home.” So it is less about understanding and more about the feelings one experiences while watching his works.
You can watch the YouTube video where Christopher Nolan talks about Tenet:
“You shouldn’t understand everything in ‘Tenet,'” he continued. “Not everything is comprehensible.” He cites the ending of Inception as an example, where the viewer also does not get a clear directive on how the film ends.
The director wants to leave room for interpretation so that everyone can decide for themselves how they want to interpret certain aspects.
Why Tenet is a masterpiece can be read here in the opinion article by our colleagues at Moviepilot: Oscar cheekiness: Sci-Fi wonder belongs in the running for Best Film. Period.
Even a trainer had no idea about Tenet and commented on the film during an online workout. She stated that one would have to be “a neuroscientist” to understand Tenet.
Funny enough, Christopher Nolan himself happened to do that workout one day and got hit with her criticism while pedaling on the exercise bike:
