The Odyssey, the new movie directed by Christopher Nolan, is based on the centuries-old original epic poem often taught in high school English classes. However, don’t let that dissuade you.
The movie is a thrilling, immersive, and action-packed adventure that is well worth seeing. It is the tale of a war hero, Odysseus, who resiliently faces obstacles including his enemies, the forces of nature, and the spite of the gods to return to a home that he isn’t sure still exists. This is a perfect film for Gen Z students who have had to resiliently face uncertainty and change in our lives caused by external forces, such as the pandemic, divisive politics, and swift technological changes.
One of the things that makes The Odyssey worth seeing is Nolan’s commitment to using a slate of filmmaking tricks to tell the epic tale of Odysseus in the most spectacular ways possible. To begin with, The Odyssey is the first movie to be filmed entirely on an IMAX 70mm film camera. This creates a larger-format picture that provides a more immersive experience than traditional digital film. Unfortunately, not every theater-goer can experience the movie in this format.
According to The New York Times, there are only 25 IMAX 70mm compatible theaters in the United States. Luckily for us Atlantans, the Mall of Georgia in Buford is one of these theaters. I was lucky to be able to see the IMAX 70mm version of the Odyssey, which uses film instead of digital projection. Jeremiah Hartman, 15, stated that he is “dying to see it on IMAX 70mm, but it’s impossible to get tickets because it is sold out.”
Nolan’s cast is filled with A-list celebrities, including Matt Damon, Tom Holland, Zendaya, Anne Hathaway, and Travis Scott. Nolan was committed to making every scene feel as authentic as possible.
According to an interview in GQ Magazine, Nolan declined to use CGI and green screens as much as possible. Instead, he traveled with his cast and crew to six countries to film on location, including Morocco, Greece, Italy, Iceland, and Scotland. For example, the cast and crew hiked up a mountain every day to a real 15th-century castle high above sea level in Italy to serve as Ithaca; the Cyclops scene was filmed in a real cave in Greece, and Nolan rented a real Viking-inspired ship called the Draken that had been sailed across the Atlantic to film the scenes at sea. Nolan also used minimal CGI special effects and was dedicated to using practical effects instead. For example, the Cyclops was portrayed using a combination of practical special effects, including a custom 60-foot puppet and animatronics.
Nobody knows the exact date the Odyssey began circulating, but we do know that it was an epic poem passed down orally through generations before it was ever written down. The Smithsonian Magazine notes that every time this epic story was recited aloud or written down, it likely changed slightly based on the storytellers’ perspective and goals. This original epic poem tells the story of Odysseus, the king of Ithaca, who was sent by King Agamemnon to fight the City of Troy. After a ten-year battle that was won as a result of Odysseus’s invention of the Trojan horse, Odysseus embarks on an epic ten-year journey back home to Ithaca. Along the way, he encounters a series of obstacles, including outsmarting a giant cyclops, resisting the siren’s song, and escaping from an army of flesh-eating Laestrygonians. It also tells the story of Odysseus’s wife, Penelope, and his son, Telemachus, who had to fight off dozens of suitors who hoped to take Odysseus’ place as king during his 20-year absence.
But more than cool cinematography, a great cast, and exotic locations, the story-telling and character transformations are what make The Odyssey worth seeing. The movie is told in a nonlinear fashion through a series of flashbacks. Using this method, Nolan shows how a story can change based on the point of view of the audience and the person telling it. For example, The Odyssey movie shows the story of the Trojan Horse on at least three separate occasions using flashbacks. In each retelling, the audience learns more about Odysseus’s character progression from a clever and heroic leader to one filled with remorse.
The story is 3,500 years old, so it’s not a spoiler to tell you a quick summary of the story of the Trojan Horse.
After 10 years of failing to enter the fortified walls of Troy, Odysseus came up with a clever idea: the Greeks pretended to surrender, sail away, and leave behind a “peace offering” for Athena in the form of a giant statue of a horse. Unbeknownst to the Trojans, who brought it back into the city walls, the horse was filled with soldiers who snuck out in the middle of the night to open the city’s doors so Greek soldiers could pillage and conquer Troy.
In the first showing of the Trojan Horse, the movie first shows us the neutral perspective of the Trojan warriors approaching Sinon (Elliot Page), a Greek messenger who tells them that the giant horse statue is a peace offering for the goddess Athena.
Later, the story of the Trojan Horse is portrayed as a story told by the Spartan king, Menelaus, who framed the event as a triumph. Because he wants Telemachus to feel proud of his father, Menelaus describes Odysseus as a clever and brave warrior who helped lead the defeat of the City of Troy. As a result, the audience believes that Odysseus is glorified as a god-like hero.
However, the audience’s perspective changes the third time that the story is told. In this retelling, Odysseus recounts the battle to his wife, Penelope. He describes the fall of the city of Troy as a brutal and uncivilized event that he was ashamed to take part in. We are shown the horror of the battle and how Odysseus witnessed innocent citizens being slaughtered at the hands of his own men while begging for their lives.
As a result, Odysseus is no longer framed as a Greek hero, but instead as a guilt-ridden, flawed, and destructive character.
There’s a reason that the story of The Odyssey is still studied hundreds of years after it was first told. It’s a great, larger-than-life story about complicated characters. Nolan’s version brings it to life in a way that will engage and impress teen audiences and cinephiles.
