Christopher Nolan says a response he gave about the ending of Memento at the 2000 Venice Film Festival taught him not to publicly explain his films. After he offered his own interpretation despite first saying the meaning was for audiences to decide, his brother Jonah warned that people would remember only the director’s verdict; Nolan says he has followed that advice ever since.

The article links this episode to Nolan’s reputation for leaving the meanings of complex films such as Inception, Interstellar and Tenet open to interpretation. It also frames the lesson against anticipation for his forthcoming adaptation of The Odyssey, arguing that audiences may engage more deeply when a filmmaker does not prescribe a single ‘correct’ reading.