Christopher Nolan has admitted that he doesn't expect audiences to understand everything in his 2020 film Tenet because it's not all comprehensible.
Those who have been pretending to understand Tenet can breathe a sigh of relief as Nolan has asserted that audiences are not supposed to be able to make total sense of it. During an appearance on The Late Show With Stephen Colbert, the director acknowledged he often makes movies that are open to interpretation.
"You're not meant to understand everything in Tenet," Nolan said when asked about his notoriously obscure film. "It's not all comprehensible. It's a bit like asking if I know what happens to the spinning top at the end of Inception. I have to have my idea of it for it to be a valid, productive ambiguity, but the point of it is it's an ambiguity."
Nolan opened up further about his intentions when making a movie, saying that he focuses on the "experience" rather than the idea of creating a "puzzle" that needs to be solved or figured out. He feels it is enough to watch one of his films, but it's a bonus if some of its ideas resonate and spark discussions or debates afterwards.
"If you experience my film, you are getting it. I feel very strongly about that," he said. "I think that where people encounter frustrations with my narratives in the past is sometimes I think they are slightly missing the point. It's not a puzzle to be unpacked. It's an experience to be had, preferably in a movie theater, but also at home."
Tenet, Nolan's 11th feature, served as a culmination of the director's 22-year career and his obsession with time as a moving fabric imprinted on film. However, the emergence of the COVID-19 pandemic during its original theatrical run meant that it never quite got the presentation it needed, which no doubt damaged its potential.
Fortunately, the mind-boggling time thriller is returning to theaters and IMAX on February 23 for one week only, more than three years after its debut. Nolan said that audiences will finally have the "chance to see Tenet the way it was intended to be seen," and it's well worth your time, according to IGN's 8/10 review.
Adele Ankers-Range is a freelance entertainment writer for IGN. You can follow her on X/Twitter @AdeleAnkers.
