When a hero has been absent from home for decades, can they ever go back again? Or perhaps the better question is: *should* they? War stories ask this all the time. The Odyssey, the 3000 year old epic poem, tells the story of a man struggling to get home after a prolonged war. Christopher Nolan’s latest epic movie of the same name reframes the story to interrogate the plight of a guilt-ridden protagonist even in the wake of victory – his failures, his flaws, and his regrets while questioning if this hero can ever go home again, or if he even should.
Perhaps the most famous story in western literature, The Odyssey follows Odysseus, the King of Ithaca, summoned to war in Troy by Agamemnon, brother of Menelaus, whose wife was taken by a Trojan prince. For ten years, they laid siege until Odysseus comes up with a plan to sneak soldiers inside in the belly of a great wooden horse presented to Troy as a peace offering, covertly infiltrate the city, open the gates, and sack the city. They win the war, but after angering the gods, it takes him ten years to make it home. The core of the story isn’t much changed here. In Nolan’s version, Odysseus (Matt Damon) and crew are subject to torments and trials on their journey home, they sack a city, spar with a giant cyclops, encounter a sea monster and goddess or two, with many dying along the way.
Nolan’s version does take some creative liberties though – for a start removing much of the direct appearance of the gods. Athena appears, but only to Odysseus, and it’s never quite clear if she is real or a manifestation of his guilt and trauma. Poseidon doesn’t appear, but after their actions would have caused offense, the sea rages against them. The indirect nature of these versions of the gods help illustrate that although they are always watching, Odysseus makes his own destiny. Karma, as they say, is a cruel mistress, and those that break Zeus’s Law – the ritualized, mutual respect between guests and hosts because you never know who may be a god in disguise – will be rewarded cruelly.
Link: https://thisisforreel.com/home/movie-review-the-odyssey-is-a-feast-for-the-senses-a-major-achievement-for-christopher-nolan
