Tenet is a 2020 science fiction movie helmed by Christopher Nolan starring John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Dimple Kapadia, Michael Caine, Elizabeth Debicki, and Kenneth Branagh. The director spent five years perfecting the script of the film because of its tricky and complicated idea.
One of the movie’s notable features is the concept alluding to the laws of physics. It rapidly gained a cult following of science fiction enthusiasts because of its exploration of the subjects of time travel and entropy. However, Nolan insisted that Tenet is not a time travel movie so he provided a breakdown of the film for its upcoming re-release in theaters.
Christopher Nolan Unravels The Mystery In Tenet
In a short video clip posted on Twitter, director Christopher Nolan gave the lowdown on Tenet and imparted an idea of how fans can better understand the movie.
“Tenet is not a film about time travel in the conventional sense. It’s a film about the direction of time, and that’s defined by a thing called entropy. All laws of physics are symmetrical. They’re all identical whichever direction time is running in other than entropy.”
He mentioned that there is a universal debate in the world of physics about entropy either defining the direction of time or just a demonstration, or whether it serves as the cause or the effect.
“Tenet takes on this idea that entropy is the cause. What’s happening in Tenet is rather than just moving backwards and forwards in time, machines have been developed that can change the direction of time for an object or a person so you’re mixing the two directions of time within the same scene within the same frame. You don’t have to view cause and effect as defined by one coming before the other.”
He gave a clear example from one of the most iconic scenes in the movie and noted that whichever direction of time it goes, it is always the person’s will that commands it to occur.
“So the scene where the protagonist holds his hand over the inverted bullet and it jumps up into his hand, you made it happen whether or not you dropped the bullet, whether or not the bullet flies up into your hand. It has to be your hand. It has to be your will that’s making it happen.”
Christopher Nolan quipped that in this idea, Tenet was born, just like its palindrome title that viewers can read whichever direction they begin with.
Tenet Gets A Limited Theatrical Re-release
Tenet premiered in theaters during the pandemic, and despite its box office income not breaking even, it still ended up as the fifth highest-grossing movie in 2020. Now, Christopher Nolan’s sci-fi masterpiece is getting another shot.
For a one-week limited show in select theaters, Warner Bros will re-release the movie on 70mm Imax, Imax, digital, and 70mm film screens beginning February 23, 2024.
Those who won’t be able to see it on the big screen – don’t worry, Tenet is available to stream via Netflix and Prime Video.
