Nolan responds to criticism of ‘Oppenheimer’ overlooking devastation in Japan

In a recent conversation with Variety, Christopher Nolan discussed the remarkable success of his film "Oppenheimer", noting that it has become one of the year's highest-grossing movies, edging closer to the billion-dollar mark in global box office earnings. The director expressed his surprise at the film's achievement, emphasising that he could never have foreseen it and attributing its triumph to the fortuitous timing.

In that conversation, Christopher Nolan said, "With certain films, your timing is just right in ways that you never could have predicted. When you start making a film, you're two or three years out from when it's going to be released, so you're trying to hit a moving target as far as the interest of the audience. But sometimes you catch a wave and the story you're telling is one people are waiting for."

The director also responded to the criticism regarding the film's portrayal of the impact on the Japanese population, stating that, "The film presents Oppenheimer's experience subjectively. It was always my intention to rigidly stick to that. Oppenheimer heard about the bombing at the same time that the rest of the world did. I wanted to show somebody who is starting to gain a clearer picture of the unintended consequences of his actions. It was as much about what I don't show as what I show."

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"Oppenheimer" was released on July 21, alongside Greta Gerwig's adaptation of "Barbie", which stars Ryan Gosling and Margot Robbie. The biographical film is set during World War II and revolves around physicist J Robert Oppenheimer, often referred to as the Father of the Atomic Bomb. 

The narrative is situated in a historical era when Oppenheimer harboured concerns that testing the atomic bomb might trigger a cataclysmic chain reaction, yet he proceeded with the decision. J Robert Oppenheimer played a pivotal role in the development of nuclear weapons during World War II. Actor Matt Damon portrays General Leslie Groves, who headed the Manhattan Project, while Emily Blunt takes on the role of Oppenheimer's wife, Katherine Oppenheimer.