Tribute to Christopher Nolan (Santa Barbara International film festival’s Modern Masters Aword)

Reviewed by Charles Starr. Viewed at the Arlington Theater, Santa Barbara Film Festival.

I was able to attend the Modern Master Award presented to Christopher Nolan. The award is the Santa Barbara Independent Film Festival’s award of highest honor. It’s recipient is said to have enriched our culture in a multi-faceted way. There is no doubt that Nolan’s career has been multi-faceted. He has written screenplays for movies such as “Memento”, “The Dark Night”, and “Inception”. He directed all of the above and also “Batman Begins”.

The evening started off with an interview by Pete Hammond and included several clips from Nolan’s films. His career has really taken off in a short period of time with relatively few films under his belt. However, he has built a strong following and is now receiving much recognition for his work. I felt that the fact that he has so few films he has been a part of made the interview more interesting. Because there weren’t many films to talk about, Nolan was able to go in depth, giving them each proper attention and consideration. I feel like many of his films began to take on a new meaning to me as I saw them in a different light the more he explained them.

Next, much to the audience’s surprise, Leonardo DiCaprio took the stage to present Nolan with the Modern Master award.

In conclusion, my opinion of Christopher Nolan has grown after attending this award. I will be curious to see his next films that are already in the making.