Leonardo DiCaprio awards Christopher Nolan his Modern Masters award at SBIFF 2011

Christopher Nolan appears on the red carpet at SBIFF on the way into Santa Barbara's Arlington Theater for his ‘Modern Masters' award, January 30, 2011. I stood with my buddy Ted Mills, fellow filmmaker/journalist, and we interviewed Nolan briefly on his way in. As Ted had the voice recorder he asked most of the questions. I had told Ted to please ask Nolan about the underlying themes in his films, mostly in The Dark Knight (2008) and Inception (2010), which suggest a balance between good and evil and remain unresolved as to which side is the more prevailing of the two. Nolan's signature themes seem to hint at a Star Wars like Tao-ism in his heroic epics where the evil Joker is as much needed to the world's balance as the good Batman; or rather, that there is light in all dark and dark in all light. In my humble opinion, it is this underlying tone that speaks to the collective unconscious of Nolan's enthusiastic global audience.

TED: Can you please comment on your films' underlying themes, in the spectrum of, say, man is born inherently good or inherently bad where is that in your films?

NOLAN: I think I probably fall on the optimistic end of the spectrum.

TED: Based on what?

NOLAN: Life experience. Optimism. I don't know exactly. I'd like it to be true. I'll put it that way.

TED and I: (laugh... my thoughts... okay, ???)

ME (to Nolan): I have a question to add to that... The Joker. Is he a villain? Or a hero? Or???

NOLAN: I would say he is a definite villain.

ME: Oh, no.

NOLAN: He's an anarchist.

ME: No... But we love the anarchist!

NOLAN: (smiling, cryptically at me) You need to watch the film again!

Okay, then Mr. Nolan was rushed inside, leaving poor Ted and I with many more questions. But Nolan, truly, you really are a great philosophic director and we love you for it. You rule and you truly are a Modern Master!!!

Written by, Vanessa McMahon on February 05, 2011

Christopher Nolan at SBIFF Christopher Nolan