Bela Tarr and Christopher Nolan are surprisingly similar directors. Their styles are as far apart as and respectively similar to those of Schubert and Wagner, but both are obsessed with the same themes of spectacle, death, hyperreality, the power of demagogues to incite people to violence, and the slippery slope of police state tactics. I am glad I saw this film after the Aurora shootings – it confirms my belief that while what happened early Friday morning was madness inherent in the human condition, works of art take on a life of their own and have repercussions far beyond those we intended (much like the Prince). However, the cinema, and all other forms of wonder, are still inherently beautiful things that teach us majesty and allow us to meditate on the fragility and temporariness of our wonderful lives, in the same way that the whale inspires awe in Janos. The last scene with Janos ties into another Nolan theme, and another lesson we must take from the disaster in Aurora: if we lose our civil liberties in the name of safety, we lose our freedom.