News culture “The nuclear threat at its maximum”: the director of the best sci-fi film of 2024 wants to respond in film to Christopher Nolan
Publié le 08/03/2024 à 07:22
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The director of Godzilla Minus One wants to set up a new project dedicated to the atomic bomb which this time would be a response to another monster film released a few months earlier: Oppenheimer by Christopher Nolan.
Two films, the same theme
It's the big favorite at the next Oscar ceremony: Oppenheimer is Christopher Nolan's last great masterpiece, an exceptional film dedicated to the American physicist who created the atomic bomb. Released last year, Oppenheimer was one of the biggest successes of the year, becoming the highest-grossing biopic in cinema history. Rather intimate in his approach, Oppenheimer offers us a hitherto unprecedented look at the design of the nuclear weapon, but also and above all a formidable and terrifying dive into the mind of its creator.
And a few months later, another film, certainly much less ambitious, but nonetheless just as terrifying was released in theaters with the same backdrop: Godzilla Minus One, the big surprise success straight from Japan. For director Takashi Yamazaki, seeing these two films, which each deal with the atomic bomb, come out almost at the same time is a pure coincidence, as he explained last January to MovieMaker. An unexpected double cinematic event which has never been so topical according to the filmmaker.
It's definitely a coincidence that both films were released this year. But in a much more relevant sense to current events, I think the threat of nuclear war is almost at its peak today, more than in any other year of our lifetimes. And in a way, the original Godzilla from 1954 was created in the same context in the aftermath of World War II, asking what it meant for these superpowers to develop so many nuclear warheads. I think the fear and the threat that this represents are certainly real, but the current relevance of these themes is quite striking.
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The Japanese response to Oppenheimer
But if Oppenheimer and Godzilla Minus One share the same themes, they are both distinguished by the point of view they adopt. Oppenheimer is fundamentally American and never deals with the repercussions on Japan of the bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, while Godzilla Minus One is precisely about the aftermath of the war and begins precisely directly after the dropping of the atomic bombs. In fact, Takashi Yamazaki wishes to continue his work and plans to start a film response to Oppenheimer.
(…) being of Japanese origin and heritage, I have seen a lot more nuclear bombs in our pop culture or in our environment since a very young age. As a filmmaker and director, I hope to one day provide some sort of response to Oppenheimer. I don't think Godzilla is necessarily a direct response to this, although they both tend towards similar themes. But even if this film is never made, I think having it in the back of my mind as a strong theme is important.
While waiting to complete this project, it is certain that Takashi Yamazaki will be offered more opportunities in the future. The filmmaker is ready to conquer Hollywood with a nomination for best special effects at the Oscars. What's more, Godzilla Minus One was a real success abroad and made a lot more noise than Toho anticipated. The last film dedicated to the legendary monster of cinema even reached Steven Spielberg, who probably loved it.
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