Throughout Hollywood’s illustrious history, film fanatics have been treated to a myriad of unique films with political undertones that serve to highlight what is going on around the world. Take for example Stanley Kubrick’s 1964 film Dr. Strangelove or: How I Learned to Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, a satirical black comedy that was created with the intent of poking fun at the Cold War, or 2014’s The Interview starring Seth Rogen and James Franco as they attempt to assassinate the fictional leader of North Korea. Despite the touchy subjects these projects address though, they still achieved great success for their ability to frame geopolitical tensions in a different way than what we are accustomed to and simultaneously draw attention to the actual problems at hand. These are just two examples of films to undertake these types of endeavors, and the list will continue to grow as political tensions are virtually constant in the world we live in today. As proof of that, we have the latest trailer for another film that is set to explore one of the most significant geopolitical events of the 20th century in Christopher Nolan’s latest film Oppenheimer.
Throughout the 20th century, the United States was involved in a number of wars and skirmishes that saw American soldiers on the front lines in countries all over the world. Arguably the most significant of them was World War II, during which America and our allies fought to bring an end to the terror caused by Nazi Germany, Fascist Italy and Imperialist Japan. In doing so, the United States undertook a project known today as the Manhattan Project, with its objective being to create the first Atomic Bomb. Now the esteemed Christopher Nolan is set to explore the process behind creating one of the very first weapon of mass destruction in Oppenheimer, named after the theoretical physicist Dr. J Robert Oppenheimer who led the project and helped the United States come out of World War II victorious. In the latest trailer for the project, a generous three minute clip courtesy of Universal, sees Cillian Murphy starring as Oppenheimer as he attempts to navigate the immeasurable tension that World War II created across the globe and, ultimately, play a significant role in brining an end to it with his newfound creation. Despite how impressive this trailer may be though, it is unlikely that it even begins to fully encapsulate the horrors of World War II and the impact it had on world history that we still see the effects of today. With Nolan at the projects helm though there should be no doubt that all of that and more will be prevalent in Oppenheimer, and moviegoers can see the film for themselves when it debuts in theaters on July 21st, 2023.
Christopher Nolan is amongst the most esteemed names in Hollywood when it comes to directing, having directed films such as 2008’s The Dark Knight, 2010’s Inception, 2014’s Interstellar and many others. He also took on another politically rooted project in 2017’s Dunkirk, in which he explored events that took place during World War II. Now he will be revisiting that very same war once again, but through a very different lens that should leave fans intrigued to say the least. Said fans can find out for themselves though when Oppenheimer hits theaters this July.
