The Odyssey

There's this meme about asking men how often they think about the Roman Empire. Despite being half Italian, my answer would be "not that often." Greek mythology,¹ however? Far more than I'd like to admit.

All that to say: yesterday we watched Christopher Nolan's The Odyssey.

The tl;dr version: it's great. 9/10. Also, wow, that soundtrack... I'm listening to it while typing this.

The longer version: over the years, I've read several versions of The Iliad and The Odyssey. Different translations, adaptations, and retellings from the perspective of individual characters.²

Nolan's film isn't completely faithful to the original. Then again, a fully faithful adaptation would probably run for ten hours, and at nearly three hours, this one is already long enough. Even so, I enjoyed it immensely.

Homer's Odyssey is, to me, largely about homecoming, with hubris hanging over nearly every major decision. Nolan's version is about what war does to the people who survive it. It's a different take, but maybe one that fits our current times better.

Also, cinematographer Hoyte van Hoytema is a fucking genius. I didn't see the film in IMAX, but the combination of the visuals and sound design gave me goosebumps more than once. The rumbling of the speakers during certain scenes was so damn loud, but it fit the movie so well that I don't think this was my cinema fucking up the sound levels. It felt entirely intentional.

Also, that soundtrack? Absolutely fantastic. The second half of Laestrygonians hits different.

I'm already planning to watch it again, this time in a bigger cinema. It's not my favorite Nolan film, that title still belongs to Interstellar, but I wouldn't be surprised if The Odyssey ends up among my favorite movies of all time.³

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If you're planning to email me because you hate that Helen of Troy is played by Lupita Nyong'o, save yourself the effort. I'll block you, and if we ever meet, you're getting punched in the face.