What does it all mean?

[u/BaconJets]

So I've seen this film three times now, and after my third watch it's a subjective 10/10 for me. I've never gotten so much value out of a single film before, showing it to my friends to watch them get mindfucked (And selfishly, for me to rewatch and gather more details) has been my favourite thing to do as of late.

Unlike Nolan's other films however, I can't find a clear meaning behind it all, not that there has to be per se. Inception was at it's core about a man trying to get home to his kids. Interstellar was about love for your kids transcending time and space. Tenet though? The only thing I've got is that it's about the complexities of global intelligence agencies and the insane situations that can come out of that mess. Does anybody else have theories?

[u/i_am_voldemort]

I don't know if it's the point, but the emotional chord for me was in Neil's sacrifice. He did the entire mission knowing he was fated to die but did it anyway.

He even said to the Protagonist in their first meeting, "Time isn't the problem, it's getting out alive that is the problem"

[u/SpecterK1 → u/i_am_voldemort]

I never anticipated feeling such profound sadness over an indirect portrayal of death... a sacrifice to say the least.