Memento_-_Auteur_-_6.2

Page 1: Memento

• Title: Memento

• Section: Auteur (Specialist Study Area 2)

Page 2: Auteurship Recap

• Definition of Auteur:

  • Concept popularised by the French New Wave in the 1960s.

  • Describes filmmakers with a distinctive ‘voice’ and significant creative control.

  • Their works repeatedly explore similar themes or motifs.

  • Retain a ‘signature’ across various genres.

Page 3: Starter Activity

• Match images to Christopher Nolan films:

  • Inception

  • The Prestige

  • The Dark Knight

  • Tenet

  • Dunkirk

  • Memento

  • Oppenheimer

  • Extension Activity: Discuss personal favorite Nolan film and reasons behind the choice.

Page 4: History of Christopher Nolan

• Birth Year: 1970

• Family Background:

  • London (father’s side)

  • Chicago (mother’s side)

• Education:

  • Did not attend film school

  • Graduated from University College London with a degree in English Literature.

• Interest: Fascination with storytelling and narrative flexibility, joined the college’s film society for practical experience.

Page 5: Early Works

• Following (1999):

  • Low budget of £6000.

  • Plot revolves around a man obsessed with following strangers in London.

  • Filming schedule stretched over one year, captured during weekends.

• Short Film (Doodlebug, 1997):

  • 3-minute experimental film with a circular narrative.

  • Focuses on a man attempting to crush an unidentified bug.

Page 8: Memento (2000)

• Overview:

  • Breakout feature film for Nolan.

  • Critical Success: Rated 8.4 on IMDb, 94% average on Rotten Tomatoes.

  • Financial Success: $4.5 million budget, grossed 10 times at the box office.

  • Awards: Oscar nominations and numerous international awards.

  • Introduced recurring themes and techniques prevalent in Nolan’s later works.

Page 9: Batman Begins (2005)

• Demonstrated Nolan’s status beyond a single success (following Insomnia).

• Reinvigorated the Batman franchise with a grounded portrayal of the character.

• Focused on practical effects rather than CGI to create an authentic feel, setting benchmarks for superhero films and paving the way for future franchises like MCU.

Page 10: Christopher Nolan as an Auteur

• Nicknamed the ‘blockbuster auteur’.

• Criteria: Does Nolan fulfill Saris’ criteria of competence, personality, and interior meaning?

• Nolan’s Auteur Traits:

  • Breakdown into film form, narrative, and themes.

  • Analysis of consistency versus diversity in his films.

Page 11: Nolan-isms

• Features common across films:

  • Nonlinear narrative structures and experimentation with time and memory.

  • Protagonists often portray brooding anti-heroes.

  • Recurring symbols and props representing objective/subjective truths.

  • Engagement with themes surrounding self-identity and ambiguous endings.

Page 13: Characterization in Nolan’s Films

• Protagonists frequently portray characters believing they wield control, only to discover it's an illusion.

• Common traits include trauma and obsession with lost loved ones.

• Often faced with antagonists that manipulate their conditions and choices.

Page 14: Props/Motifs as Symbols

• Nolan regularly imbues physical props with significant narrative relevance.

• Examples:

  • Spinning totem in Inception.

  • Magic top hat in The Prestige.

  • Added complexity to the perceptual understanding of reality in his films.

• Question to Consider: Identify the symbolic props in Memento.

Page 19: Memento and ‘Objective Truth’

• Central storyline involves Leonard’s quest to uncover the truth about his wife’s murder.

• Discussion Points:

  • How the narrative presents varying truths through different characters (Teddy, Natalie).

  • The climactic revelation of Jonathan’s true context and how the film gradually builds up to it.

Page 20: Non-linear Themes of Time

• Frequent employment of complex narrative structures by Nolan, challenging linear storytelling conventions.

• Memento: An exemplary manifestation of a non-linear narrative through parallel storytelling.

• Similar techniques employed in historical films like Dunkirk.

• Time manipulation serves as a crucial narrative device.

Page 24: Repeated Cast + Crew

• Frequent collaborations with actors and crew members across various films:

  • Michael Caine (8 films)

  • Cillian Murphy (6 films)

  • Christian Bale (4 films)

  • Gary Oldman (4 films)

  • Others include Kenneth Branagh, Morgan Freeman, Tom Hardy, etc.

Page 28: Exam Practice Prompts

• Analyze the extent to which experimental approaches in your film option can be attributed to the auteur director.

• Explore the statement regarding experimental auteurs often challenging established conventions in their films.

Page 30: Research and Class Activities

• Engage in research tasks based on Nolan’s films, fostering collaborative overhead discussions and debates.

• Watch specific film analysis videos about films like Inception and The Prestige as part of the learning process.