The most unforgettable movie from the last decade

NEGI RK Friday, November 13, 2020

The most unforgettable movie from the last decade

To paraphrase a prominent quote:

You might forget what characters in the movie said and did, you might forget entire scenes, but you will never forget how the movie made you feel.

Movies that make you genuinely feel; the ones that trigger something deep in your being; the ones that stir your soul are exceedingly rare, and they are ones you cannot forget, even if you try.

In the past decade, a handful of films have had that effect on me. Long-time readers will know that Arrival is my great love of the 2010s.

But there are a few others. And for this particular question, Interstellar, Christopher Nolan’s space odyssey, emerges as the pre-eminent candidate.

To me, Interstellar was an unforgettable experience for a couple of reasons.

Primarily because in exorcising the ghosts of his critics - voices that suggested his films are detached, and lack resonance - Christopher Nolan crafted his most unabashedly sentimental movie.

Interstellar wears its heart on its sleeve. While I have always been engaged by most of Nolan’s projects, I could never connect with them at a deeper level.

For me, Interstellar was the perfect concoction. It had Nolan’s signature marriage of complexity and simplicity, his typical puzzle-box narrative, and awe-inspiring visuals.

But unlike his other projects, in Interstellar, those aspects were not the main event. Everything was built on the foundation of the moving father-daughter dynamic at the movie’s core.

That was the focal point. That was what reeled me in and kept me engaged; that was what made me feel.

Interstellar has black holes, time dilation and tsunamis, but the most compelling and monumental facet of the film is the grace with which it relays the profoundly moving connection between a father and a daughter.

A word here on Hans Zimmer’s astounding work. Interstellar’s soundtrack is equally, if not more, awe-inspiring than the film’s galactic canvas.

Liking a movie is akin to an infatuation; a momentary crush. When you’re in the theatre, and for perhaps a day or two after that, it’s the only thing you can think about.

It will pass.

But falling in love with a movie is an altogether different experience. It takes time and multiple viewings. You become attuned to its rhythms, its quirks and nuances.

It’s rare too. There are hundreds of movies I like, some with more vigour than others, but there are probably only 20-25 movies that I love.

It’s a powerful word, a potent emotion, and one I do not use lightly.