The (Jewish) Layers of Oppenheimer

Obvious Spoiler warning, go see the film if you haven’t yet

There are numerous rules governing jewish religious community life. 

One of those rules states you should not dive into the mystic practice of Kabbalah before you’ve spent at least 10 years studying -and practicing- the basic laws, texts and commandments. This safeguard prevents anyone tinkling with the fabric of the world without a proper understanding of the consequences. 

I always liked this because not only is it confirmation the mystic arts are admitted as real, but it’s also proof their use is not considered heresy. Stories always tell of that one rabbi who knew how long was a specific animal’s gestation period while never having left his study in his life. Just with hidden knowledge from the Torah. How another knew by saying hello and smiling to everyone he met in the morning, he could influence the essence of the world. And we all know about the Golem.

Magic just being science we don’t yet understand, Oppenheimer could be the story of that one jew who, while obsessed by visions of a hidden world,  didn’t practice the basic laws of the book before diving into the magic and materialising its destructive power. 

In many aspects, Christopher Nolan’s 12th movie could be considered his magnum opus. 

It could be argued that everything he did to this point was a test run for him to tell this story. From the themes to the way it is presented. Interstellar was a massive dissertation on gravity, love and blackholes. Inception dealt with the impact of dreams and obsessions bleeding into the real world. Dunkirk allowed him to tackle historical events with the gravitas it deserves. Even the Dark Knight trilogy had a nuclear device at the core of its climax while at the same time presenting the citizen and prisoners of Gotham with a debilitating cold-war-like dilemma : by fear of the other group’s power over you, would you strike and blow the other ship or would you value your morals first and foremost as members of the human race ? 

And only when stars aligned on the set of Tenet (a movie mentioning Oppenheimer by name) was he presented by Robert Pattinson with the biography of the scientist, never to let it go before the adaptation hits theatres. 

One of the most striking elements hitting the viewer when experiencing Oppenheimer (and it is an experience) is the way it is told. In Memento, Christopher alternates Black and White sequences with coloured ones by way of presenting two different Points of View. Colour sequences are the subjective view of the main protagonist. Leonard can’t make new memories and sees the world as he feels it. He’s driven by emotion. He wants revenge, his compass is the love he lost, the memories he cherished before he could not make new ones. Before the RAM became ROM.

In Oppenheimer, the colour sequences show what Robert J. experiences. The tones come with the understanding that his world is vibrant, alive, capable of change and emotion. Capable of creation and action in the physical world (which is, as explained by the Kabbalah, what we're here to do. The dead can't interact with it, death seals all actions and judgement until you are reincarnated). He’s nostalgic for the American desert while studying in Europe and loves so much that he’s considered a womaniser who has affairs left and right. Still, he wants to hold hands and bring flowers to his dates even when repeatedly asked not to do so. A sensitivity that, when brought to the surface, will impose on him the full crushing extent of the moral responsibilities brought by his actions later on.

Opposing these sequences, the black and white parts depict the views of Admiral Lewis Strauss, a self made man (like Robert O.’s father). Lewis is attached to hard work and tradition -he’s the president of a temple in New York-. In Memento, the dual tone sequences offer a less emotional, more objective view of the events. As we always stick to Leonard in the colour shots, the black and white parts propose a global depiction of the action as illustrated by the time Leonard enter the hotel’s reception. There, the camera pans to the receptionist and stays at the desk when Leonard leaves the premises while the POV in the coloured sequence of the same event never leave him. In Oppenheimer, the views of Admiral Strauss are binary (for or against him, good of bad, powers living in light or shadow worlds) but he is also the prime specimen (dare I say archetype ?) of the people "living" in a world Oppenheimer doesn’t belong in. A world that is born of the consequences of the scientist's and his team’s actions, a world unable to birth magic without his help and unable to change and escape the etched in stone consequences said magic (again, the "dead", ie the non-creators, can't change the physical world, thus they live in black and white). The only action they can take is try to punish him for feeling excluded of his inner circle. Lewis Strauss works to shut him up in revenge. President Harry Truman, frustrated by Oppie's lack of interest for his "we're the best" world views, chases him and his ideas off the Oval office. They succeed in the short term but his legacy lives on. They pushed the button and now live in fear and dread, shunned in a colourless world. They are barred from their final aspirations as Oppenheimer moral, ideas and consequences bleed through every physical barrier. It’s particles and waves. You’ll be Ok. Except you won’t.

Striking is also the opposition of those worlds as two very famous currents of judaism.

G.od gave the Torah to the sons and daughters of Israel, whose name was changed from Jacob when he defeated the Almighty -or at least was able to not be vanquished by it-. Judaism is the combination of two wor(l)ds. One written, one spoken. One absolute (etched in stone and given  at the Sinaï), another -adaptable to time and people- with a little wiggle room. Alive, breathing, f*cking with a communist that is more Jungian that Freudian. The generational culture shock in jewish families is always the same. Some members are traditional, others mystical. 

Be they religious or not, the traditionals apply the rules as they learned them, with a sense of belonging to a group, a tribe. They are rightfully proud of their heritage. Their father’s songs heard at the temple. Their mother’s recipes. The traditions during the holidays. The fasts. The books. The colours, trinkets and fabric canevas of old. Kids have to carry the family name and cultural legacy. Some of them are not even sure a G.od even exists. Life after death is a fantasy. What the book says is less important than what it represents. Belonging.

The mystics on the other hand are their polar opposites. They don’t care about tradition. They are bored during the religious service. They value morals over culture, love over rules. Mystic over relationship strategies. Just before marrying his future wife, Oppie's lover Jean warns him : while he relies on his brilliance, his disregard for other’s feelings will end up bitting him back, “au sang”. Indeed, the man who forgone tradition (the J. in Robert J. is his father’s name, Julius, but it means “apparently nothing” to him according to his Cambridge teacher) is haunted by obsessive visions of a world he cannot touch but wants to understand, study, grasp and if not control, at least tame in some capacity. In this instance, Oppenheimer hopes to impose this power on a malignant power to save lives, even after his friend Isidor Rabi warns it will undoubtedly fall on "the just and the unjust". And while he’s the one finding and lifting the stone to discover the snake, he’s not the one using it and will thus have no control over the way it is handled. By people following rules. Who don’t have any for this.

When the world is fang-bit and the only way to survive is now dabbling with venom in curating or striking doses (ie aggressive and even more aggressive ones), the only thing left is tragedy, dread, anxiety and regret. It’s no wonder Christopher Nolan put a couple of shots of Oppenheimer love’s supposed suicide in the mix at the climax montage before Robert admits the building of the Super is something that should never exist. Because he knew grief when Jean Tatlock died and he felt as terrible a guilt for each of the 220 000 victims of the “A” bombs.

Last time I went to Israel, I talked to several people about what’s currently happening over there. Some people are fiercely defending the power in place. Fighting for security and rules in possible (probable) disregard for fundamental freedoms such as independence of tribunals. As often misused as it is, Benjamin Franklin’s quote “Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety” always looks most relevant to their opponents, advocating for peace and freedom and a change of regime. While it seems the clashing parties are here to stay and fight till the other one is done and buried, an uncle didn’t see this as more than a necessary struggle. A loud and painful cry of the people that, like in every painful birth, will lead to a more evolved and just society.

Hopefully this is what the world will come to at some point if we don’t destroy ourselves first, even if it surely won’t probably happen before a few decades/centuries. The Oppenheimers and Strauss of the world will need to talk and understand each other at some point because the lack of communication will result in both losing. Resulting in anxiety and moral dread on one side and by never letting go of a humanity lacking survival oriented ego. And when push comes to shove, the desperation of one will be the destruction of both. And us with them.

Final Notes ::

There's so much to say about the movie still, about the format, other themes and Parti-Pris...

I couldn’t end this without mentioning the performances of the cast, giving true melody to the dialog and character personification, Jennifer Lame’s vibrant editing, Hoyte van Hoytema's mind-blowing cinematography and equally mesmerising score from Ludwig Göransson, making every of the 11 times I’ve watched this a 4D concerto under hypnosis. Probably more on that later.

(Co-)Writer of Taxi Driver, Rolling Thunder, Mishima and Bringing out the Dead, Paul Schrader called Oppenheimer “The best, most important film of this century”. 
As of this day (Sept. 14, 2023) It currently is the second grossing R-rated movie of all time and stands as #41 on the #250 top rated movies on IMDB.
It joins most of Christopher Nolan's movies there (Interstellar (#24), The Dark Knight Rises (#69) Inception (#14) The Dark Knight (#3) The Prestige (#43) Batman Begins (#129) and Memento (#29)).
Only missing from this top are his first movie Following, Tenet (which is dear to my heart and that’s enough for me) and the WWII epic Dunkirk. Dunkirk having achieved the highest WWII grossing movie and on top of its 61 awards, having granted the director with a Commander of the Order of the British Empire ( CBE ) medal, I’d say it’s a pretty good palmarès.

All of Christopher Nolan Movies are available on 4K aside from Following and Memento, both of which are have a new Blu-ray edition out @ 101 Films. If you're in France, I recommend getting them or enquiring through Metaluna Store, which is where I usually get my stuff.

On top of this, I highly recommend listening to Every Movie Ever Podcast (Apple or Spotify) as they recently covered every movie from the director (but the whole podcast is absolutely delightful).
I also shared my experience going to London to watch the movie in 70mm IMAX on the personal side of my Instagram if you’re curious about it. FYI, I took the trip as we didn’t have those specifics in France and Spoiler : It was SO worth it.

OPPENHEIMER (2023) - a Syncopy / Atlas Entertainment / Gadget Films Production / Universal production presentation

Director :: Christopher Nolan

Writers :: Christopher Nolan, Kai Bird, Martin Sherwin

Cast ::  Cillian Murphy, Emily Blunt, Robert Downey Jr., Florence Pugh, Alden Ehrenreich, Jason Clarke, Tom Conti, David Krumholtz, Josh Harnett and Josh Zuckerman amongst other equally talented actors.
Music :: Ludwig Göransson

Cinematography :: Hoyte Van Hoytema

Editing :: Jennifer Lame

Production design :: Ruth De Jong

Casting :: John Papsidera

The rest is on IMDB and in the end credits roll