Darren and Adam bring you a different type of show today as they have a discussion about the Christopher Nolan film The Odyssey. They discuss the film’s merits and faults, technical achievements, their favourite parts of the film, other Christopher Nolan films and IMAX cameras.
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Just a quick note: I am starting to listen to your review but want to share my thoughts first. I am very familiar with the poem itself and have read several translations, including Emily Wilson’s.
We saw the movie in a conventional theater, because there was no iMax within 100 miles, but do plan to see it again, this time in 70-mm iMax (sadly, in almost front row seats).
I liked it for what it was. I had been curious what they would leave out, since a reading of the poem takes at least 4 times longer than the movie, and packs more text into each minute than a movie. A lot was left out, but I hope the show will spur some people to read or listen to the complete work.
You could quibble with a lot of Nolan’s choices, but I won’t. Circe was a surprise, as I always imagined her to be an attractive woman. Telemachus skipped visiting Nestor entirely, but that’s not key to the story.
But the one scene that should have been included is the one where Odysseus is washed up on shore, stark naked, and finds himself asking for help from the local princess and her flock of young girls. All movies need some comic relief, and this would have been perfect. The scene also emphasizes Homer’s take on bronze age honor and hospitality.
I think it’s a better reflection of Homeric epic poetry than was the Iliad movie some time ago. I hope it prods more people to go back to the actual poems themselves. And since many prefer audio books, the reading of the Odyssey by Ian Mckellen couldn’t be better.
Now that I’ve listened to the whole podcast(!): you mentioned a slave who recognizes Odysseus as she’s washing his feet. This was not just a faceless character, she was Eurycleia, Odysseus’s nurse from birth, and one of the few people he trusts completely, as do his wife and son.
At a much younger age, perhaps before he was a teenager, Odysseus’s leg had been scarred by a wild boar he was hunting. In this scene, she recognizes the scar and therefore, his identity, and he signals her to keep quiet. This gives him another key ally in the house.
Near the beginning of the movie, I remember seeing a reference to the boar hunt and a brief focus on the scar, so this recognition scene is definitely an important part of the story, both for Homer and for Nolan.
After Odysseus left for Troy, Eurycleia took care of Telemachus as he grew from baby to boy to young adult. She is the person who assembles the provisions for his trip to mainland Greece in search of news of his father.
She may be technically a slave, but more importantly she is a key member of the household and an important part of the story.