Where Does Oppenheimer Take Place? The Real-Life Locations Behind The Film

Christopher Nolan's "Oppenheimer" is one of the hottest things in cinema this summer, both because of its own critic-stunning merits and the "Barbenheimer" phenomenon that has grown around it and Greta Gerwig's "Barbie." Out of the two movies, "Oppenheimer" is obviously the more realistic, being based on the real-life Robert Oppenheimer's (played by Cillian Murphy in the movie) path to becoming the father of the atomic bomb. Every Nolan movie tends to be a big deal, and since this biographical thriller is far more rooted in reality than his Dark Knight trilogy, "Interstellar" or "Inception," fans might wonder where the movie's events take place, and how accurately the locations reflect real life.

Well, this being Christopher Nolan, it's probably not a huge shock that the movie takes pains to get the details right ... so right, in fact, that the National Park Service confirms that many very real Manhattan Project locations feature in the film, from Oppenheimer's real-life house to other locations in Los Alamos, NM. What's more, you can even visit many of them.

The Los Alamos locations used in "Oppenheimer" are, in large part, the real thing. From Oppenheimer's house during this era to the Fuller Lodge community center, the Lamy Train Station, and the Civilian Women's Dormitory for workers, numerous real-life locations were used to shoot the film. The Los Alamos website also confirms that the United Church in the movie is also the real one. The National Park Service has a handy app for a walking tour of the locations. Per Total Film (via Games Radar), however, Nolan's crew wasn't all about filming in real locations. They also used a replica Los Alamos they built "up on a mesa in New Mexico," as the director put it.

As for the film's focal point — the Trinity Site, where the first ever nuke was detonated on July 16, 1945 — it's located in White Sands, NM. Per NPS, you can actually visit this historical site as well and have actually been able to do so since 1953 ... though only at designated times, since the area is within the White Sands Missile Range, controlled by the U.S. Army. Incidentally, they're very aware of "Oppenheimer," and are expecting great traffic on the next Trinity Site open house dates in October and April. 

Of course, with the site's National Historic Landmark status, the explosion in "Oppenheimer" wasn't actually filmed there — especially as the nuclear detonation special effect was accomplished with real explosives. Instead, the desert scenes involving the Trinity test were filmed near the city of Belén, NM (via The Hollywood Reporter).