The 96th Academy Awards were a glittering affair as Hollywood stars turned up in droves in the hopes of walking away with the Oscar statuette. Oppenheimer was one of the biggest winners of the night, as it bagged 7 Oscars across categories.
Helmed by Christopher Nolan, the film enjoyed an incredible run in theaters, even if it had stiff competition. It was a cinematic marvel, and it shone a light on Nolan’s genius as a filmmaker. However, not everyone is happy with the Oscar sweep. Especially the residents of Hiroshima, who witnessed the devastation of the atomic bomb firsthand.
Oppenheimer‘s remarkable success at the Academy Awards
This Christopher Nolan film chronicles how the atomic bomb was created at the height of the Second World War and, subsequently, launched on Japan in 1945. Those were dark days since the bomb laid waste to Hiroshima and Nagasaki, killing thousands of residents, whose effects can still be felt.
Oppenheimer tells the story of the brilliant physicist, J. Robert Oppenheimer. He was the one to lead the team that eventually created the atomic bomb. Nolan mentioned that he was inspired to breathe life into the project after reading the physicist’s Pulitzer Prize-winning biography.
The film had a stellar cast, with Cillian Murphy playing the father of the atomic bomb and Emily Blunt playing his wife, Kitty Oppenheimer. Iron Man star Robert Downey Jr. played Lewis Strauss, while Florence Pugh took on the role of Jean Tatlock.
Audiences around the globe embraced the film. In the days leading up to its release, the film was also involved in a battle at the box office with Barbie. This quickly went viral, spawning memes about the ‘Barbenheimer’ phenomenon.
Oppenheimer won big at the Academy Awards. It picked up 7 of the prestigious golden statuettes: Best Actor for Murphy, Supporting Actor for Robert Downey Jr., Best Director for Nolan, and even Best Picture. Additionally, this film won three more awards for Cinematography, Film Editing, and Original Score.
The film’s success has divided the residents of Hiroshima
Nolan’s magnum opus won universal acclaim except in Japan, where it was not released at all. There were no official statements, but the implications were as clear as day.
After the film’s success at the Oscars, the president of Hiroshima’s film festival had something to say. “Is this really a movie that people in Hiroshima can bear to watch?” wondered Kyoko Heya (via The Japan Times).
She further reasoned that the film would open up discussions about the use of atomic bombs once again. “I now want many people to watch the movie, because I’d be happy to see Hiroshima, Nagasaki and atomic weapons become the subject of discussions thanks to this movie,” she said (via The Japan Times).
Oppenheimer will eventually make its way to the screen in Japan on March 29, months after its global release. Heya did manage to arrange for the film to be screened for school students.
Some of the residents are apprehensive about how the survivors of the bombing will react. The reaction is quite understandable, but perhaps, as Kyoko Heya mentioned, the evils of the atomic bomb will take center stage again.
