When Christopher Nolan announced his new project, many of us were somewhat surprised to learn that it would be nothing less than a biopic focused on the figure of Robert Oppenheimer; one of the fathers of the atomic bomb and a key piece in the well-known Manhattan Project. But beware, don’t let this description deceive you, because the British he has done his thing again.
nolan being nolan
It doesn’t matter that ‘Oppenheimer’ —that’s the title of the film— doesn’t have spies who play with time, mind thieves or masked superheroes; Nolan has managed to once again bring out technical and logistical muscle. On this occasion, he promises a representation of the first nuclear detonation in history carried out no CGI that would make us forget the little act of the plane exploding in ‘Tenet’. This is how he explained it in the next issue of Total Film.
“I think recreating the Trinity test [la primera detonación nuclear llevada a cabo en Nuevo México] without the use of CGI was quite a challenge to deal with. Andrew Jackson, my visual effects supervisor joined the team early on; he was investigating how we could do many of the visuals in a practical way, from representing quantum dynamics and physics to the Trinity test itself, to recreating Los Alamos on a New Mexico mesa with extraordinary weather that we needed for the film. There were enormous practical challenges.”
In addition, the filmmaker wanted to underline that what awaits us It’s not just any biopic and has praised the teamwork that has managed to carry out a project that is as demanding as it is ambitious.
“It’s a story of immense dimension and scale and one of the most challenging projects I’ve ever faced in terms of scale and in terms of spanning Oppenheimer’s vast story. There were huge logistical and practical challenges, but I had a team amazing that he gave it his all. It’s going to take a while to finish, but as I see the results and assemble the film, I’m thrilled with what my team has been able to achieve.”
And, in case you still have doubts, the good old Nolan has made it clear that ‘Oppenheimer’ will be a 100% house brand production in which the point of view and time will once again be essential elements of the narrative.
“We are trying to tell the story of a person’s life and personal journey through their personal story and on a larger scale. The subjectivity of the story is everything to me. We want to see these events through the eyes of Oppenheimer. And that was the challenge I set to Cillian, to take us through that journey. That was the challenge for [el DOP] Hoyte van Hoytema, to my designer, to my entire team: how do we see this extraordinary story through the eyes of one person who was at its center? All of our decisions about how to make this movie were based on that premise.”
‘Oppenheimer’ will be released next July 21, 2023. I already count the days until its premiere.