The legendary filmmaker Christopher Nolan has turned 49-year-old today and what better day than to celebrate his life with movies?
Christopher Nolan might have just started gaining recognition in India, but the filmmaker has been around for the longest time. He has built a loyal audience like no other. Nolan movies have made his fans think hard and loud about the film much after it reached a climax.
That exactly is the point which Christopher Nolan wants to make. The filmmaker has gone on to say in his interviews, "I like films that continue to spin your head in all sorts of different directions after you've seen them." Nolan has of course managed to do that and much more with his movies.
In his own words, he loves to 'shake up' comfort and familiarity which people feel with movies. He wants his fans to explore beyond what they see and believe, which is what he tries to bring forth with his movies. Nolan creates a world with his movies, which might be a different world, but is much similar to the ones we are living in. Whether The Dark Knight series or Inception/Interstellar, Nolan knows exactly how to get audiences to connect to his movies and leave them thinking long after it is over.
As the filmmaker turns 49 today, here's looking back at some iconic movie and movie characters from Nolan's work, and what they taught us about life:
1. Bruce Wayne vs Scarecrow in Batman Begins
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Batman Begins taught us to not fight the battle within but overcome our fears and do right with our actions. Bruce Wayne turned into Batman after not only overcoming but also conquering over and embracing his fear. He rightly says, "It's not who I am underneath, but what I do that defines me."
Similarly the smart yet rejected scientist aka Scarecrow used this fear to scare people. He also taught us the same lesson, but through a different path, which would destroy others' lives. "There's nothing to fear, but fear itself!," he quoted.
2. Inception
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Leonardo Di Caprio as Cobb in Inception taught us to think and execute big, keeping the risks in calculation. He stated, "An idea is like a virus. Resilient. Highly contagious. And even the smallest seed of an idea can grow. It can grow to define or destroy you."
3. Interstellar
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Nolan understood the importance and feeling of love. He hence understood that no time or space can ever throw you away from that feeling. Brand from Inception is heard saying, "Love is the one thing that transcends time and space."
4. Memento
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The biggest takeaway from Christopher Nolan's Momento was to live in the moment. The movie was a reflection of ourselves, about how we create a world just to remain happy, which is why the character of Leonard is heard stating, "We all lie to ourselves to be happy."
He also introduces us to fact we already know but don't wish to accept by saying, "Memories can be distorted. They're just an interpretation, they're not a record, and they're irrelevant if you have the facts," adding, "Just because there are things I don't remember doesn't make my actions meaningless." He also questioned, "The world doesn't just disappear when you close your eyes, does it?"
5. Joker and Harvey Dent in The Dark Knight
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Like Joker said, "Madness, as you know, is like gravity, all it takes is a little push." Through Joker, Nolan taught us that evil minds could be smart too. Joker knew, "What doesn't kill you, makes your stronger," and, "If you're good at something, never do it for free."
Meanwhile Harvey Dent (two-faced) saw the cruel side of life and was smart enough to understand that in a helpless situation, "You either die a hero or live long enough to see yourself become a villain."
6. The Prestige
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The Prestige taught us to believe in magic. It secretly taught us to not keep all our cards at the table in the first go, because most people would not care once they know you and your secret. Alfred Borden rightly says, "They'll beg you and they'll flatter you for the secret, but as soon as you give it up... you'll be nothing to them."
7. The Dark Knight Rises
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If anything could sum up The Dark Knight Rises, it would be 'rising from the ashes'. Batman was pronounced dead, the city was under threat and there was no sign of rescue. However a person's response in such a situation is what defines what his/her character is. Miranda Tate rightly said, "Suffering builds character." It was however hard to find a character like Batman, or even Joker (his better version, of course). But like Batman said in the movie, "A hero can be anyone, even a man doing something as simple and reassuring as putting a coat on a young boy's shoulders to let him know that the world hadn't ended."
Long live Nolan and his masterpieces.
(All images are movie posters or movie stills)
