Denis Villeneuve Called This Christopher Nolan Movie a “Masterpiece”
Denis Villeneuve, the director behind Dune, has called Christopher Nolan’s 2020 sci-fi thriller Tenet a “masterpiece,” praising it for its complexity and cinematic achievement. Speaking on the Reelblend podcast, Villeneuve explained why he’s such a fan of Nolan’s work.
“I was blown away by Tenet; I think it’s a masterpiece,” Villeneuve said. “I think it’s a movie that’s an incredible cinematic achievement. I think that it’s a very complex movie. I had so much fun, I saw it several times, and each time it was a blast, and I think the level of mastery of Christopher Nolan is unmatched.”
Tenet follows a former CIA agent who learns to manipulate time to prevent a world-threatening attack. Villeneuve said Nolan is one of the best filmmakers working today and highlighted the director’s consistent innovation. “He is by far one of the best filmmakers working in the world today because people don’t realise the eye level of his cinematic mastery; it’s crazy. It’s crazy,” he added.
Villeneuve also stressed the importance of seeing a Nolan film in a theater rather than at home. “Every time Chris puts a movie on the screen, I have to [see it on the big screen],” he said. “You can’t watch a Nolan movie at home; that’s like, that makes absolutely no sense. You have to, at first, receive the full impact of a Nolan movie in a theatre.”
He praised Nolan’s evolution as a filmmaker and his drive to push the boundaries of cinema with each project. “It’s really fascinating to see him evolving from one movie to another and always pushing the envelope, technically, narratively, and always reinventing himself. For me, it’s deeply inspiring to see that master at work,” Villeneuve said.
Tenet was written and directed by Nolan, who also produced it with his wife, Emma Thomas. The film stars John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, and Kenneth Branagh.
It took Nolan over five years to write the script, with pre-production starting in late 2018 and principal photography lasting six months across multiple countries. The film faced delays due to the COVID-19 pandemic and was released in the United Kingdom on August 26, 2020, and in the United States on September 3, 2020.
Despite dividing critics, Tenet became the first major Hollywood tent-pole to open in theaters during the pandemic and grossed $365 million worldwide on a $205 million budget. It won the Academy Award for Best Visual Effects and received multiple other nominations and accolades.
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